


Crushed

by SundaeSweets



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Gen, Mystery, Pretty much just angst, Slight xeno traits, guess who it is!, it gets violent at chapter 6 so until then ur safe, it goes from 0 to 100 real quick, it's really just claws and the three hearts thing, oh also: blue blood, the first chapter is pretty long, the x4!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2019-11-15 10:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18071582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SundaeSweets/pseuds/SundaeSweets
Summary: It seemed like a normal afternoon for the X-Blood. Battling, hanging out, the normal things, their daily routine.After Vintage gets an email for a promotion, the rest of the X-Blood encourage him to go after it, but little did they know what lies ahead in their search for fame.(Note: This story was written before we had clear-cut personalities and names for the X Blood, so some of the characters will be slightly off canon. Pigtails is Red-Sole and Eggshades is Double Egg. This story also wasn't written completely by me, but co-written by a friend who's not on AO3. Thank you!)





	1. Chapter 1

It was a hot summer day in Inkopolis Square. The streets were bustling, squidkids were battling, and the smell of Crusty Sean's food wafted through the air.

On the far corner near Jelfonzo's shop, Omega was sitting at a table with a Crusty Seanwich next to her. She leaned onto her hand, scrolling through her phone as she waited for time to pass. She was waiting for the rest of the X4 to get here to play league since there was an upcoming tournament. They had to practice for that.

As minutes passed, Omega took a bite out of her Seanwich and sighed, deciding to text the leader of the group, beginning to get impatient.

 

 **Omega** > Hey, when are you getting here? We're supposed to be practicing.

 

 **Vintage** > I should be nearly there.

 

 **Vintage** > I'm unsure what may be keeping Shades or Tails.

 

Omega chewed on her Seanwich, staring at her phone with a bit of an annoyed expression. Oh well, the answer was good enough.

Meanwhile…

 

 **Pigtails** > HEY GET OUT OF BED ASSHOLE

 

 **Eggshades** > HDMSNFHSHNG

 

 **Pigtails** > WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE SQUARE

 

 **Eggshades** > oh dang, that's now?

 

 **Pigtails** > YES NOW GET YOUR ASS OUT THE DOOR

 

 **Eggshades** > alright fine _mom_

 

 **Eggshades** > geez

 

 **Pigtails** > I DONT WANNA BE YELLED AT AGAIN BITHC

 

 **Pigtails** > BITCH*

 

 **Pigtails** > fuck my fingers

 

 **Eggshades** > FINE FUCK

 

 **Eggshades** > ohp

 

 **Pigtails** > haha you said fuck

 

 **Eggshades** > dont tell vintage

 

 **Pigtails** > only if you get in the fucking car in the next 5 seconds

 

 **Eggshades** > fuCK OKAY

 

 **Eggshades** > damn it again

 

 **Eggshades** > wait shit

 

 **Eggshades** > AGH

 

 **Pigtails** > KEEP SAYING FUCK I DARE U

 

 **Eggshades** > OKAY ILL

 

 **Eggshades** > BE THERE IN 5

 

 **Pigtails** > 5 SECONDS OR 5 MINUTES?

 

 **Pigtails** > IT BETTER BE SECONDS

 

 **Eggshades** > PIGTAILS

 

 **Eggshades** > _I CANT MOVE LIKE THAT WEIRD ASS KID FROM BLUE TEAM_

 

 **Pigtails** > _YOU CAN IF YOU TRY HARD ENOUGH_

**Eggshades** > **_PIGTAILS_ **

**Pigtails** > **_GET IN THE DAMN CAR_ **

**Eggshades** > STOP YELLING OR IM TELLING VINTAGE

**Pigtails** > no dont

**Eggshades** > then WAIT

**Pigtails** > FINE

 

Pigtails had been waiting in the car, furiously texting at Eggshades to get up. They lived together, and for some reason it was always her responsibility to get his ass up in time. Why he couldn't just get up on his own? No idea!

After like, 7 minutes, he still hadn’t come out. Time for another message!

 

 **Pigtails** > **_ARE YOU DONE YET??_ **

 

 **Pigtails** > **_YOUR 5 MINUTES IS UP EGG BOY_ **

 

 **Eggshades** > I'M GOING AS FAST AS I CAN CHILL TF OUT

 

 **Pigtails** > VINTAGE IS GONNA YELL AT US DUDE HURRY UP

 

 **Eggshades** > I AM GETTING OUTSIDE NOW

 

 **Eggshades** > BY COD

 

 **Pigtails** > GOOD

 

And sure enough, there he was. About fuckin time. As soon as Eggshades got in the seat and buckled up, Pigtails backed off the driveway and sped off, literally, towards the square, hoping there weren’t any cops around.

Back at the Square, Omega was wondering where they were. She texted Vintage again to voice her concerns.

 

 **Omega** > Where are they??

 

 **Omega** > I've been waiting in the square for a while now.

 

 **Vintage** > Well, I am arriving.

 

 **Vintage** > I don't want to have to lecture them again.

 

 **Omega** > I hope they're at least _trying_ to get here.

 

Their conversations were always rather short. It didn’t really bother Omega that much, though. It was simple enough for her anyways.

After some time, Vintage finally arrives at the Square. He appears to be rather agitated. ... more-so than usual. He steps out of his car, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets as he walks towards the table.

"I do not understand why they can never be on time." He says, taking out his phone from his pocket. "Mode rotation starts within the next hour."

Omega looked up from her phone and nodded, setting it down. "Right. We still have time then. What's the current one?"

"Looks to be Splat Zones." He slides his phone back into his pocket. "Hmph..."

In the distance, the screeching of tires can be heard, and the slamming of car doors. Pigtails enters the square, bolting it to the table, bending over, hands on her knees, catching her breath. "Holy _shit_ sorry guys, we're here now!" She said between breaths.

Eggshades follows behind, his coat wrinkled a bit. "HEY hey, we made it!"

"... You're late." Vintage simply scowls.

"Yeah, we know, sorry. Eging 2.0 here didn't wake up in time." She said, crossing her arms and looking over at Eggshades.

"Yeah, I-... eging 2.0?" Eggs squints at Pigtails, despite knowing his glasses hide this detail.

"No matter." Vin huffs, interrupting him. "We still have time to spare."

Omega stood up from her seat and took the Kensa Splatterscope leaning on the table and slung it over her shoulder, putting her phone in the pockets of her leggings. "We should get going then."

Pigtails grinned. "Yeah! Hey Egg, I thought you'd might forget your weapon, so I brought it for you. It's in the car with my inkbrush."

"Oh good.... why didn't we bring them over here with us-"

"Just hurry and grab them." Vin interrupts him once again, emerging his dualies from his pockets.

"Ok geez, we'll get them." Pigtails said, holding up her hands in a mock surrender before running back to the car to get her Inkbrush

Eggs dashes with Pigtails, refusing to argue. More like he knows better.

Vin turns to Omega. "We have time for at least two matches before the hour is up."

"Next mode?" Omega asked simply.

"Rainmaker." Vin simply responds.

Omega nodded, checking the scope of her charger while she waited for the other two to get their weapons.

Not too long after, Pigtails ran back with her Inkbrush, the standard one with Splat Bombs and Splashdown. "How much time we got left before the modes change? Also what are the maps?"

Eggshades finally returns as well with his Foil Flingza, paired with Suction Bombs and Tenta Missiles.

"The current maps are Ancho-V Games and Skipper Pavilion. As for time, not much." Vin replies, spinning his Kensa dualies.

"Ew, Ancho-V. Oh well. Let's go before they change!" Pigtails said, running to Deca Tower.

Omega sighed and followed behind her, walking to the tower.

Eggshades runs after. "Yeah, let's rock!"

Vin scoffs, following the three. "Do you think we'll run into any well-known teams at this hour?" He asks to Omega.

Omega thought for a moment. "It's likely. Lots of people are out at this time. Maybe we'll run into Blue Team, who knows."

"Blue." He chuckles to himself. "I would look forward to such... somewhat, at least."

While Vintage and Omega converse, the group arrive in the lobby building.

Omega looked over at him. "It would be an interesting battle, considering their playstyle."

"Interesting is one way to put it." He ceases his spinning.

"Come on..." Eggshades mumbles to himself, getting impatient with this waiting. Despite, y'know, having been there for less than 20 seconds.

More people joined the lobby, and they were finally placed into battle. Getting to the spawn point, waiting to start the game, they saw they were paired against...

"Oh, good..." Vin utters, grinning to himself.

One of the opposite teammates was... **Goggles**? "Oh hey, it's you guys!" He shouts, waving at them.

Hey, look who else was here, Army, that's who it is! "Is that the X4?" Army asked to no one in particular, squinting at them from the spawn point.

Forge, his teammate, was next to him and nodded, holding her Rapid Blaster. Army looked over at her before looking back at the opposing team, holding his N-Zap ‘85 firmly in his hands.

Omega didn't worry too much. They'd be easy to deal with. Goggles on the other hand, maybe not. She looked over at Vintage and mouthed, "What are the chances?" at him.

Vintage lightly chuckles at Omega's silent question.

Goggles turns behind him. "Yeah, that's them alright. Oh, I can't wait for this one!" Goggles speaks to his teammates. One of which, was-

"Oh... O-Oh boy." Glasses utters, holding his inkbrush to his chest.

"Ohoho... his should be _good_." Eggshades remarks, his grip on the roller handle tightening. 

Pigtails was practically bouncing with energy. "He has an inkbrush too! Forgot about that!"

Omega rolled her eyes before the match started, immediately revving up her charger. She didn't fully finish charging it though. Instead, she just quickly shot several streaks of ink, diving in and popping out to get to the Zone faster, clearing a path for the rest of her teammates, aswell. 

Pigtails didn't follow it, instead running at Mach I with her Inkbrush, making her way to the Zone.

Vintage follows Omega's line on foot, spraying the area around them to fill up his gauge some. He looks ahead to notice two characters.

Glasses and Goggles arrive to the zone first! "Nice!" Goggles shouts. "Now we jus-"

Vintage rolls past Omega, catching Goggles in his line of fire. "Hmph!"

"-t gottAAH!" Goggles finishes as Vintage splats him.

"Goggles!" Glasses shouts. "I'll-!" His words are cut off by Omega, splatting him with a quick snipe to the face.

"Oops." Omega said as his squid ghost thing flew off.

Army, however, was harder to hit, hiding behind whatever cover he could get with Skipper. He threw a Suction Bomb over to the Zone, and Forge was over near the top to take the enemies from behind.

Vintage dodges the suction bomb with ease, covering the splatted area. As he spins his dualies and regains his stance, his eyes lock onto his next target ahead - _Army._

Eggshades finally arrives on the scene, vertically swinging his flingza. With his assistance, the X4 capture the zone for the time being. "Got em!" He yells.

Goggles slides over next to Army, clinging onto his splattershot. "Taste this!" He shouts, chucking a burst bomb at them.

Army and Vintage met eyes. Army glared in his direction, coming out from behind the wall between the zone and him before rushing in, throwing a suction bomb to where he was heading. He drew a quick trail of ink before going up to Vintage with his N-Zap out in front of him, aiming and shooting bullets of ink at the leader. Army was almost at an empty tank, but he tried not to show what he knew.

Near the top of the Zone, Forge was also working to cover it, placing down ink mines as she went. After she placed down a third one, the first exploded, covering part of the Zone.

Pigtails swung by just in time- literally. Coming up near Goggles, she swung her brush at him at the speed of light, obscuring his view and for sure getting ink onto him.

Omega was helping to cover the Zone too while also attempting to splat Forge. Forge dodged the first time, but wasn't so lucky the second. Forge yelped and was sent back to spawn.

Vintage manages to dodge past Army's line of fire, catching him instead. He follows by tossing a suction bomb to regain the covered area. All the meanwhile, Goggles has no time to react to Pigtails' inkbrush assault, and is splatted in the process.

The match had gone on for mere minutes, as the X4 had been on top of their game this round. The opposite team were dominated, a KO Bonus being the result.

"Hmph. That was fairly entertaining." Vintage confidently notes.

Omega looked over at the opposite team. Army was glaring in their direction. Not something new from players that hated them for being good. Forge was just keeping her head down and being quiet.

Pigtails cheered, throwing her hands up with her inkbrush, sending splooshes of ink onto the ground. "Woohoo! Won our first battle for the day! Hey Vinny, are the maps and modes changing?"

"Yes, it seems so." He brings out his phone." The match lasted longer than I expected, so."

"Also, do not call me that."

"Sure thing, Nylon." Pigtails said, smiling smugly at him.

"Hmmg..." Vintage grumbles.

"Should'a stuck with Vinny, haha." Eggs teases.

Omega sighed as they got back to the lobby.

Omega put a hand on Pigtails' shoulder. Pigtails stayed quiet, but was still smiling and chuckling quietly to herself.

Omega looked at her phone. "The mode's rainmaker now. Maps are Sturgeon Shipyard and Wahoo World."

"Wahoo World??" Eggshades perks up. "Sweet!"

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The X4 had been battling for quite some time. Once they finished their final battle, the sun had begun to set.

Omega headed to the table they'd met at before their battles. She took a seat, having a rest after the back-to-back nonstop battles. She leaned her charger onto the side and took out her phone, beginning to scroll through it.

Pigtails on the other hand was getting food from the Crust Bucket before it closed. She handed him her tickets and Crusty Sean got to work making what she ordered. She did order for all of them, not just herself.

Eggshades stuck with Pigtails, as he may as well grab something too. They'd been on a steady win streak all day.

Vintage, however, stops far from the table to stare at his phone for a good minute. Eggshades or Pigtails likely wouldn't notice his sudden change in expression, but Omega might just.

Omega looked over at him, managing to catch the change from her phone. "Is something wrong, Vintage?" She called over to him from her seat.

"I've apparently gotten an email. An offer to promote something big." He says, repeating the contents of the email. "They seem to admire my skill in battle. Hm."

"An email, hm?" Omega said, thinking about it. "Did they mention what the 'something big' is?"

"Barely. They only specified 'something big.' How suspicious."

"Are you going to take them up on their offer?"

Eggshades makes his way back to the table. "I say you should. Seems to do wonders for Monarch Team, so can't hurt."

Pigtails was carrying a bunch of food in her arms, coming back as well. She set down a Crusty Seanwich for Omega and another one for Vintage, and sat down with _her_ snack, a Triple-Fried Galactic Shwaffle. How does she even eat that without leaving anything behind? "God I'm fucking _starving_ I've been waiting to eat all day!" She remarked, digging into her Shwaffle eagerly. She got a couple bites in before she stopped to speak. "Also, something about an email?"

"Hm, maybe so." Vintage ponders his options. "I guess it won't hurt to see what's in store."

"Yeah, might even give us the recognition we deserve." Eggs adds.

"Thought we already got recognition." Pigtails said before ripping off a chunk of Shwaffle with her teeth.

"We do, but a promotion might do us some good." Omega replied.

"Yeah, s'what I meant."

"Hm... I may as well." Vintage finally decides. "They've offered to meet with me tomorrow morning."

Pigtails didn't respond this time, still eating her Shwaffle.

Omega nodded. "I hope it gets us somewhere."

"Likewise." Vintage takes his seat, continuing to stare at his phone.

After a minute or two, Pigtails finished her Shwaffle. That was. _really fast_ for something that big. How.

A little more after that, Omega finished her food, looking up from her phone to check up on everyone else before standing up. "I'll be heading home." She said, taking her charger from the table.

"Oh?" Vintage looks from his phone.

"I have things to take care of. Besides, it's getting late." She said, looking over at the horizon.

"Fair enough. I may as well get home as well." He agrees, standing from the table. "What of you two?"

"I wanna go home. Not sure about Eggy Boy here though." Pigtails said, cleaning up her mess.

"I could go for a nap, so." Eggshades agrees, only just finishing his food.

"Alright, home time then?" Pigtails asked. "I won't speed driving home this time."

"Good. No more of that, please."

"I only sped because we were _late_ and I won't hesitate to do so again. But you can't be late coming home if you're the one making the rules!"

"Okay, okay."

"In that case. Good game, team." Vintage speaks, sliding his phone back in his pocket as he walks off.

Omega nodded to him before walking away herself.

Pigtails stood up. "Hey Yolk! Let's go, I wanna see my bed again." She said, skipping towards where their car was.

"Oh my god." Eggshades mumbles to himself, following Pigtails.


	3. Chapter 3

[Yesterday]

 

 **Vintage** > Since I will not put up with Shades being late, I may as well say what I have to say here.

 

 **Eggshades** > thank god, i don't have to get out of bed

 

 **Pigtails** > you never get out of bed unless i wake you up dipstick

 

 **Eggshades** > ssh

 

 **Omega** > Do we still have to come in for practice today?

 

 **Vintage** > You can. But I will not be present for it.

 

 **Omega** > Did you decide to take them up on the offer?

 

 **Vintage** > I did. We've arranged a meeting today.

 

 **Eggshades** > sweeeet

 

 **Pigtails** > wait what offer no one told me about this

 

 **Vintage** > We discussed this yesterday.

 

 **Pigtails** > did we?

 

 **Pigtails** > huh

 

 **Eggshades** > were you not listening?

 

 **Pigtails** > buddy i was busy eating my shwaffle

 

 **Eggshades** > fair

 

 **Vintage** > Look, long story short: I was offered a sponsor.

 

 **Vintage** > ... I think.

 

 **Omega** > You think?

 

 **Vintage** > If you recall, they weren't exactly specific.

 

 **Omega** > No, they weren't. Though still, you haven't gotten clarification yet?

 

 **Vintage** > Not exactly. Though I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.

 

 **Omega** > Okay. I'll take your word for it.

 

 **Vintage** > I think they've arrived.

 

 **Vintage** > I'll be back soon.

 

* * *

 

It was the next day, and as always, Omega had arrived early for practice. She was waiting on the others to get here, like she always did. She scrolled through her phone, hoping they'd get to practice on time.

Instead of her Kensa Splatterscope, she brought a different weapon today: the Foil Flingza Roller. Despite this class of roller being what Eggshades used, she often found herself enjoying the use of the weapon quite a bit.

Instead of trying to wait again, she texted someone different today.

 

 **Omega** > Hurry up.

 

 **Eggshades** > huh

 

 **Omega** > Practice?

 

 **Eggshades** > OH

 

 **Eggshades** > SHIT

 

 **Omega** > why are you like this

 

She groaned, continuing to scroll her phone.

Eggshades had literally just woken up, Omega’s text being the cause of it. Pigtails didn’t wake him up this time for whatever fucking reason.

He texted Omega back again, telling her that they’d be there soon, before texting ‘Tails.

 

 **Eggshades** > the fuck didn't you wake me this tome

 

 **Eggshades** > *time

 

 **Pigtails** > learn to set up an alarm asswipe

 

…

Fair point.

 

 

Long after, Eggshades and Pigtails finally arrive. "hhHHey, Omega! We made it!"

Omega had been waiting there for quite some time. "Took you long enough." She said, sighing. She looked back at her phone. "Now we just have to wait for...." She trailed off for a second before resuming her sentence. "Vintage." 

Saying that sounded strange. Vintage wasn't usually late for meetings. He was always there at the regular time. She was immediately a little worried about it, but didn't let herself show it.

"What? Vinny's not here yet?" Eggshades asks, as if he just noticed the lack of numbers.

"Apparently. I don't see him around anywhere." Pigtails commented, doing the thing where you put your hand over your eyes and squint while looking for something or someone.

"That's odd. Normally he's here before all of us."

"Yeah.." Omega muttered. "I can try and message him to see where he is."

"Better than sittin' around waiting for him." Eggshades folds his arms. "Speakin' of which... I haven't heard from him since he left yesterday."

"Yeah, me neither." Pigtails said while Omega was texting Vintage.

 

 **Omega** > Vintage? Where are you? We're all already at the Square.

 

Omega waited, staring intently at her phone, beginning to show her worry.

"Hm..." Eggshades ponders his own thoughts. "Anything?" He asks Omega.

She waited for another 30 seconds before saying something. "...He isn't responding."

"Huh.. You think he's busy with somethin'?"

"If he was, he'd tell us in advance." Pigtails said this time.

Omega quickly tapped away at her phone again.

 

 **Omega** > Vintage

 

"True... Huh. Somethin's not clickin' right here."

"He's still not responding." Omega said, a very slight hint of panic picking up in her voice.

"... You don't think it's got somethin' to do with that email, do ya?" Eggshades raises a brow as his arms fall to his sides.

"I.. really hope not." Omega said, slumping down to the table, seeming genuinely distressed.

"Yeah... Yeah, me too." Eggshades admits, sticking his hands in his pockets. Him? Worried about the guy that scolds him every time he's late? It's more likely than you think. "... You okay, Omega?"

Omega didn't respond. She kept staring at the screen, waiting for him to reply, hoping he would.

Pigtails felt kind of sorry for her. She was worried about Vintage now, too.

"... Alright, well. Unless you guys wanna call it early, I guess we gotta do today without him." Eggs sighs. He wasn't sure that was even possible without Vintage.

Omega looked over at him. Her eyes were wide and sad, but she nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, sure." She stood up from her seat, glanced at her phone one last time, and then put it away.

Pigtails went over to her. "You don't have to if you don't want to." She said in a serious and sympathetic tone.

Omega looked down at her. "No, it's okay. It might help me take my mind off of things." She said, forcing a small smile at her.

Pigtails nodded before giving her a quick side-hug with one arm and running off, taking her inkbrush from the wall she'd set it on.

Eggshades equips his (newly acquired) Clash Blaster. "You're sure you'll be alright, 'Mega?"

"I'll be fine." She answered, hefting her roller over her shoulder. "Since we don't have a four person squad for league, we can either do regular ranked and hope we end up in the same lobby, or just do regular turf."

She thought for a moment. "Another option would be to just ask someone else to play, but I don't think any of us want to do that."

"Hmm... True. Besides, who'd wanna play with us anyway?"

"There's gotta be someone." Pigtails said. "Even if we're not all that popular yet, we're getting there. We've got fans already, yknow."

"Yeah, but... who?"

Pigtails shrugged. "Hell if I know."

Omega sighed, walking over to the tower. If someone would want to team up with them, they'd have to ask.

"... Oh well, I guess." Eggshades shrugs, following Omega.

 

* * *

 

They'd all been battling for some time now. They hadn't been able to get players on their team for league, so they'd just been doing turf and ranked as an unfinished team for the day. Once they were finished battling, they headed back to the Square.

Once she left the tower, Omega looked around at the Square to see if Vintage was there. As much as she searched, she couldn't find him. Her spirit decreased more, slumping a little bit while walking to the table they always meet at.

Eggshades follows soon after, hanging his blaster over his shoulder. "Still no sign of him..."

Omega pulled out her phone once she sat down, looking to see if Vintage had responded while they were battling. She rested her chin on the table and held her phone out in front of her with outstretched arms.

Once she saw that still, there was no answer, she got even _more_ worried and sad about the whole situation. She whined before speaking. "He still hasn't answered.."

"Still??" Eggs throws his eyebrows up in genuine shock. "Okay, something isn't right here."

"He'd've answered by now. Should.. Should we go check on him?" Pigtails suggested.

"Maybe we should. It's not like him to leave us in the dark like this."

"Yeah. We can take my car." Pigtails said. "You wanna come, 'Mega?"

Omega nodded before standing up again. She put her phone into sleep mode but didn't put it away.

"Right."

Pigtails brought them all to her car, getting in the drivers seat. Omega got into the back. She started up the car and waited for Eggshades to get in.

Eggshades hops in the passenger seat. "Let's find us a Vinny."

Pigtails smiled before backing out and driving to Vintage's place.

 

* * *

 

After a couple minutes of driving, they stopped at Vintage's apartment complex, Omega leading them up to his own. Lucky for them, Omega had a spare key Vintage gave her. Before she unlocked the door, she tried knocking first, to see if he was there.

No response.

Omega waited a couple more seconds before she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Vintage?" Eggshades shouts, hoping to catch his attention.

No response.

"Vinny? Nylon? Vintage?" Pigtails shouted, trying every nickname she could think of.

No response.

"Vintage, are you even here?" He shouts again, looking around the living room.

No response.

Omega was really worried now. She took out her phone and tried calling him. Maybe he'd left his phone. If he still had it, he'd call back, right? She'd hear his ringtone somewhere around here. He couldn't just be... _missing._

...And yet the call didn't go through.

The ringtone wasn't heard.

There was still nothing. There was still no response.

"What the hell...?" Eggshades walks over to the hallway, going for the bedroom. He had to be there right?

But, nothing. No trace of Vintage at all.

Pigtails stayed with Omega in order to not leave her alone while she was feeling like this.

Pigtails thought. Where was he? If he wasn't home, where was he? If he hadn't contacted them or he wasn't home, where was he? If he didn't show up for practice, didn't contact them in advance, or was even home, _where was he?_

Pigtails was worried. Very worried. But she was also irritated. It frustrated her how she didn't know where he was.

Eggshades made his way back to the two. "Looks like he's not home."

"This can't be right." Omega muttered. "I tried calling him. I couldn't hear his ringtone in the apartment. If he didn't leave his phone, he must've taken it. But my call didn't go through... He always answers."

"Yeah... Can't imagine what could be keeping him, too. He never goes... well, anywhere."

"Look outside." Pigtails said. It was getting dark.

"... Okay, so he _would_ be home by now."

"He can't just be running late getting home either." Omega said.

"Then... where could he be??" Eggshades begins to show his worry.

"I wish I knew." Pigtails said in a low voice, crossing her arms.

Eggshades throws his shades on his couch in frustration. "Damn."

Omega looks over at him. "You okay?" Obviously he was not okay, but he didn't take off his shades around other people often. At least not as far as she knew.

Eggshades' eyes were kept closed, as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, I'm-. I'm fine." He goes over to pick his shades back up. "I guess we'd better head home."

Omega looked after him. Her eyes softened, and she nodded. "I can walk home from here." She paused a minute before adding, ".. and thank you, both of you."

Pigtails looked up. "It's no problem." She smiled before turning her head. "Hey Eggshades, you ready to go?" She asked with a more moderate volume level.

"Yeah. Here's hoping he turns up tomorrow." He slides his shades back on.

"Here's hoping." Pigtails nodded.

Omega waved goodbye before leaving.

"Right... Let's go." Eggs sticks his hands in his pockets, walking out the door. He watches as Omega walks off, rather depressingly. "... Yikes. I've never seen Omega so hurt."

Pigtails locked the door before she closed it behind them. "Yeah.. Though, you know how long they've known each other. I'd be feeling the same way."

"Yeah... S'kinda sad to see her like this." Eggshades sighs. "... Anyway. Let's get home."

Pigtails nodded. "Yeah."


	4. Chapter 4

Over time, the remaining members of the X4 were unable to focus on their matches, what with their constant concern for their team leader. Omega, being the closest to him, had been taking this situation harder than the others. All the meanwhile, Eggshades and Pigtails had tried to keep her at ease as the days passed. Today would mark two and a half months of Vintage's sudden disappearance.

"Come on, 'Mega. I'm sure he's gotta be fine. Whatever trouble he may or may not be in, he can handle himself." Eggs quietly insists, a hand placed on Omega's shoulder.

" _He would've already said something he can't just be gone for this long without telling us its-_ " Omega rambled on, her face in her hands, sobbing into them. Her tears got her palms wet. Omega had finally broken. After all this time, she'd been trying to keep her cool, but she couldn't keep her emotions bottled up any longer. She'd been so worried, so hurt, so heartbroken this whole time. Only now was she letting it out.

Pigtails was hugging her waist, trying to give her silent comfort instead.

Eggshades simply sighs to himself, now realizing that words will not do the trick.

And Omega continued to cry. She kept thinking of all of the worst possibilities for why he could be gone for this long. She just wanted to see Vintage again, to make sure he was safe and okay.

Omega never cried. Not once had either Eggshades or Pigtails seen her cry. They've seen her sad, they've seen her about to, but they'd never seen any real tears come from her.

"Well... He's gotta be around _somewhere_ , right? Maybe we should keep lookin' for him?" Eggs offers. "No sense in just givin' up here, y'know?"

Pigtails spoke up this time. "Well... Where do you think he'd be? We need some kind of lead." She said, softer than usual.

"Well... I mean." Eggshades sits up straight, looking to Pigtails. "All we've got so far is that email. Not to be a broken record, but maybe it's got somethin' to do with this."

"Yeah.." Pigtails took her phone with one hand, the other still holding Omega, and looked at the team chat they had. Barren. It hadn't been touched in months. The last message  
Vintage sent, "I'll be back soon," was still the last message of the group chat. 'Soon'. What irony.

Instead of lingering on that sentence, she scrolled up to the top and began to reread it.

Pigtails would notice - Whoever was behind this promotion made things oddly vague for Vintage. A prime example being Vintage's message explaining "If you recall, they weren't exactly specific."

Back up at the top, there was also Vintage saying something about Eggshades being late. Maybe it indicated that he was at the Square that day?

"... What are you lookin' at?"

"I'm rereading our group chat." She said in a serious tone. "I know this is around 2 months ago, but it could help with finding Vintage." _It's amazing how none of us thought to read his messages before._

"... you're right. how did we not think of that?"

"No clue, man." She replied.

Omega had calmed down at this point, wiping off her eyes. She peered over at Pigtails, too.

Eggshades pulled out his phone to look for the group chat as well. "What do we got?"

"So far, it seems like he was at the Square while he was messaging us. The first message he sent was something about you being late, and you know how he gets when we're not there on time." Pigtails said, pondering the sentence. Wow, she actually sounded smart and formal. This was not a common occurrence. "He may have been expecting us to come, but then we didn't. Otherwise, I don't think he would've messaged us if we were on time."

"Yeah... Plus, it didn't sound like whoever offered told him much of.. well, anything about this promotion." Eggshades also questions.

"He probably shouldn't have trusted the 'sponsor' so easily." She said, making air quotes at "sponsor". She was beginning to think there wasn't really a sponsor at all. "Maybe we should try looking in the square and retracing Vinny's steps."

Eggshades nods to Pigtails' suggestion. "Yeah. It's our best bet for now." He turns to Omega, of course she had to have a say in this. "Hey 'Mega, you gonna come with?"

Omega had been listening to their back and forth conversation, taking in the information. "..Sure." She said, regaining her composure but falling silent.

As Eggshades is about to stand, he pauses to look back at Omega. Poor thing was completely broken at this point. "... Hey."

"Try and keep your chin up. We'll find him soon." Eggshades offers some uplifting words (for once) to Omega.

Omega smiled before she stood up, seeming to appreciate his words. Pigtails stood up too, walking next to her as they went over to the door.

Eggshades fully stood, following the two not far behind.

 

* * *

 

The three had arrived to the Square shortly after, thanks to Pigtails driving them there. Pigtails walked up to the table they'd always met at. "He would've been here. I wouldn't expect him to sit anywhere else."

"Of course. See if he left somethin' behind here, maybe."

Omega looked over at the square. "...If something happened to him, it couldn't have been inside the square. Perhaps we should look around it instead..?"

"... Right." Eggshades shoots a finger gun at Omega. "You're the brains." Moron.

"What uh... What exactly are we looking for, anyway?"

"Something. I don't know exactly, but if you see anything that looks out of place or something like what Vintage has, we should probably take a closer look." Pigtails said.

"Right... Somethin' that might clue us in to where he is." Eggshades starts looking around for possible areas to look. "Should we split up?"

"Sure, but I'm gonna stick with Omega." Pigtails said. She didn't really wanna leave her alone right now.  
"Sure thing. Keep your eyes peeled, gals." Eggshades takes one direction, his eyes darting left and right. He seems prepared to fight someone if anyone dares to lay a hand on him. There never was such thing as too serious for him.

Pigtails and Omega headed off in another. They both searched frequently, nothing seeming out of place just yet. Eventually, they came to the outskirts of another part of town, much less populated than the square. They slowed down a little bit, making sure to scan the area.

As she was looking, Omega noticed something on the ground, suddenly coming to a halt. Pigtails noticed this. "'Mega? You find something?"

Omega didn't respond. Instead, she slowly walked towards whatever she saw, crouching down before it. She reached down and picked it up.

It was a phone. The screen was cracked at the front, the display slightly obscured because of the broken glass. She flipped it over in her hand, revealing the case. It was a black, blue, and purple case... just like the one Vintage had.

Omega opened the phone. Luckily, it wasn't dead, but the battery was running low. There was a password. Vintage's phone had a password. She tried the only one she knew that wasn't hers.

The phone unlocked.

On the lock screen, the background displayed a photo of the X4, taken somewhere near Deca Tower surrounded by a crowd of other inklings. There were few notifications, all of which were many text messages, and the one missed call. All of which were from Omega, months ago. Upon unlocking the phone, the X4 chatroom was open last. Looks like the last thing he tried to type was...

"help it was a trap theyre takig n m"

...Omega stared at the phone with wide eyes. After a couple moments of silence, she suddenly spoke. "Pigtails. Pigtails, call Eggshades."

Pigtails jumped a bit before she grabbed her phone and dialed his number, putting it up to her ear.

Eggshades had been busy looking himself. Of course, he'd been looking for nothing.  
Then, his ringtone plays, his phone vibrates in his pocket. "Hm?" He slides his phone from his pocket, looking at the ID first. ... Pigtails?

He answers immediately. "Hey, you guys find anything?"

"Yeah we did. Come here quick, I'll send you our location." Pigtails said. She quickly sent it over text before putting the phone back up to her ear.

"Ah. Gotcha. Sit tight, I'll be right there." He hangs up, rushing the other direction.

Didn't take him long to reach them either. How fast was he really? "Hey! Whadda we got??"

"We.. We found his phone." Omega said. She showed him the front of the phone and the back, distinctly resembling the phone Vintage had.

"Oh shit!" He simply shouts (but silently, ssh.) "You checked it??"

Omega nodded. "..Look." She walked over to him and showed him the screen she was on, which was still the message.

Eggshades eyes the unsent message. "... Ohh man." Frustrated at how right he was, he slams his fist into his open palm. "I just _KNEW_ it... those _punk **bastards**._" He looks away from the phone for a brief moment, to prevent himself from getting any angrier. "Ugh..."

Omega looked back at the phone and reread the message again and again. Then she remembered something: the email. He had it somewhere. She pressed the home button, closing out of the app, then went to his email service and started searching for it.

There was plenty stuffing his inbox over the month. All of which was just spam, apart from the one unread tournament invite. Below the invite however, was the email they were looking for.

Omega tapped on the email. She began to read through it, making mental notes on what she saw was suspicious.

First off, the email was styled very professionally. It had paragraphs, names, and everything else you need to make a proper business letter. At first glance, it would seem that there was nothing wrong with it. But looking closer, what the paragraphs were explaining was really nothing at all. It kept dodging what the promotion actually was, or what they were doing emailing him. It seemed to be keeping something a secret. Okay, that was suspicious.

The next thing is that the email address was the same. Professional looking, but the closer you looked, the more suspicious it got. Omega looked at the company name. She ran a quick google search, and found nothing on the topic of this so called 'company'. So it was a fake account for a fake company sending a fake email.

"The email is fake." Omega finally said.

Eggshades had been looking over her shoulder to observe. "Huh... I figured somethin' was shady with these shitbags... but." He looks back to Pigtails. "What do you think these guys want with Vintage, though?"

"You think I'd know?" Pigtails snapped, looking over at Eggshades before looking back and crossing her arms. "I don't."

Meanwhile, Omega was trying to trace back the source. Maybe she could find out the real connection between this "company" and Vintage.

"Hmph. Well, I guess we'll have to figure that out somehow." He turns back, looking back over Omega's shoulder.

After a while of troubleshooting, Omega finally managed to crack it. Bingo. She smiled with satisfaction, speaking up to the rest of the group. "I found the location the email was sent from."

"What-? How'd you-??" Eggshades shakes his head, cutting himself off. No time for questions. "Ah, nice job, 'Mega!" He shouts instead.

"Its not that hard to find it once you know the best sources for grabbing information from links and basic coding skills." She said casually. "Anyways, we can probably go off this. I'll put it into Glooga."

Pigtails understood none of that besides her last sentence. She kind of just gave a thumbs up in order to be supportive.

Eggshades understood none of that nonsense besides her last sentence. He just smiled and nodded. "Right. Let's see what we've got."

Omega looked at the map. "It's.. pretty far away, actually, wherever this place is."

"I'm willing to go, if it means finding our team leader." It took a lot for him to not say 'best friend', but everyone knew what he was thinking. "What say you guys?"

"I'm in!" Pigtails said, smiling.

Omega nodded. "Me too."

"Well then." Eggshades raises his voice some, to emphasis inspiration. "Let's go get our leader back!"


	5. Chapter 5

The hallway was dim. Someone was dragging the poor inkling down the corridor to their cell after another unforgiving experiment. Once they reached the cell, they threw the cephalopod back into it and walked away, leaving him there.

On the other side of the wall, the inkling could hear a voice. "Hey buddy."

The voice came from a brilliant-colored betta sitting against the wall with white scales and a pink tint, their eyes an elegant emerald green. However, their colors had been dulled down significantly due to the environment of this heartless facility. They had short hair, and parts of it had been cut off at the bottom, leaving it uneven and messy. Across their left eye was a scar, and they were also nearly bone-thin. "How'd it go?"

The inkling lets out a hard grunt as he is thrown to the floor, the cell door slamming shut behind them. His clothes were roughed up and dirtied, bags hung under his eyes, and to top everything off, exhausted and drained of any sort of energy.

A couple of raspy coughs prevent him from responding right away. "Hmg... How do you think?" He huffs, trying to catch his breath.

"Yep. Figured." The betta said, looking forward. They pulled their knees up to their chest and rested their chin and arms on them, letting out a sigh. "Hate this place."

"Yeah... Some treatment they offer..." He agrees, struggling to lift himself from the floor. "I don't think I can take much more..."

"What are they even..  _ doing _ to you?" The betta asked, pausing for a couple seconds before adding, "If you don't mind me asking."

"I... I don't know." He says, sitting near the bars next to the betta. "This makes another session I don't recall..."

"That makes two of us then." He said, giving the inkling a lazy wink and faulty smile, moving his hand as he talked. His hand fell back onto his knees, his expression calming again as he let out a huff. "Strange..."

He merely responds with a light huff from his nostrils. "I suppose so..." The inkling's eyes look to the floor, sighing to himself. "I still can't imagine why they brought us here..."

"Neither can I." The betta said, his eyes shifting away from the cephalopod. "All I know is that these jackasses want something, but I don't know what."

"Hm... I don't know. I just want out of here..." He sleepily slumps against the bars.

"Me too, Vintage." The betta said, looking over at the inkling. "Me too."

"Yeah..." Silently says Vintage.

Vintage. Of the X4. Or, what used to be the X4. By now, he'd lost hope of ever making it out of wherever he was. The only thing keeping his hopes up was the betta, the only friend he had to speak to for the months he'd been under capture. That, and the small belief that he would be able to see his team again.

"...You think there's a chance we'd be able to leave?" The betta asked wishfully. They propped their elbow up on their knee and let their cheek rest on that.

"I'd hope so... I have a few people I imagine are waiting for me." Vintage's eyes drift off to the floor again. "Well.. If they haven't forgotten about me."

"If they're really your friends, I don't think they would've forgotten about you." They said.

"Yeah..." Vintage cracks a small smile, the only genuine smile he's given in a long time. "Fair point..." He looks to the betta.

"How about you, Apollo?"

"Ah geez.. Me?" Apollo said, thinking for a moment. "Y'know, I never really had that many friends... Either way, I don't think they care much anymore."

"What makes you say that?" He asks.

"I think they've been waiting for a chance to ditch me for a while." He said, his voice lowering.

Vintage's expression shifts. "Now, why would they do that?"

"Because they never liked me, and they were only keeping me around because they had to." Apollo said, his expression hardening, eyes shifting away from Vintage. "Let's change the subject."

"... Right." He quietly faces forward. "Well, if it means anything.."

"..You're the nicest person I've come across in here."

The betta looked over to him, initially surprised by the statement, but his expression eventually dissolved into a soft smile. "...Thank you."

He paused, thinking. "You are too, y'know."

Vin scoffs. "Am I?"

Apollo snorts. "What, you think you're not nice? At least you actually  _ talk  _ to me, mate."

"Well,  _ someone  _ has to show you the respect you deserve." Vin admits, lightly chuckling.

"What respect? I'm just some random betta fish who ended up here." They said, sticking out their tongue.

He looks back, grinning. "Please. I think we all deserve a  _ little  _ respect, don't you?"

"Yeah, sure. Guess we do, huh?" Apollo said, giving him a smile. He was glad to be making his inkling friend happy, since he'd seen him down so often. It was good for both of them to be keeping their spirits up.

"Of course we do." Vin nods. He was happy for the short time he was with Apollo. He seemed to be the only one able to keep him at ease during their time there.

But yes, short time indeed. Another suspicious looking creature comes back to Vintage's cell.

Apollo glanced over at the creature before looking down and away from Vintage to make it look like they hadn't been talking. He knew the facility didn't like their captives talking to each other, for whatever reason.

The creature walked towards Vintage and grabbed him by his jacket collar. Apollo looked worried, but he was still looking away from them.

"Gh-."  _ Damn, already? _ He let himself get dragged off. No point in fighting back anymore.

They walked away with Vintage, and Apollo watched them leave. A worried look painted his face, and he hoped it wouldn't be anything too bad this time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's where we start getting into the Real Shit™ folks
> 
> if you don't like violence this is probably where you should stop reading jsdkskd

As the sun creeps behind the horizon, the three remaining X4 members set off to find their leader. It'd been hours since they left, but they finally arrived where they needed to go. The... The forest.

"... Gettin' some more bad vibes, gals." Eggshades says, folding his arms.

Pigtails slammed her head into the steering wheel, resulting in a loud honk. "Jesus CHRIST"

Omega looked over. "Calm down, Pigtails. We've gotta be at the right place."

"The fucking forest? After like 3 hours of driving?"

"Well, I didn't come all this way for nothing." Eggshades steps out of the car, slamming the door. "I'm taking a look around."

Pigtails got out too, shutting the door behind her.

...Before she fell over because her legs had fallen asleep. She quickly changed into squid form and flopped onto the ground, yelping as she did so.

Omega got out as well, walking over to Pigtails. "Are you alright..?"

Eggshades turns, checking on her with Omega. "Uh.. You good, 'Tails?"

"My fucking lEGS FELL ASLEEP" She yelled, switching back to kid form and getting up.

Eggshades flinches at her shouting. "Geez..."

Omega looked around. "...We probably should look. There has to be  _ something  _ around here."

Pigtails crossed her arms, but didn't comment.

Omega thought for a moment. "Try looking for an entrance. If there's no building in plain sight, it might be that it's hidden. I don’t know what else we’d be looking for, so.."

Eggshades starts his walking. "Yeah. Keep an eye out for anything that might stand out."

Omega nodded, walking in a different direction. She figured it'd be best if they all split up since they'd cover more ground that way.

Pigtails did too, keeping her eyes peeled for whatever she thought looked weird or out of place.

The three search the area. Mostly, to no success. Just grass, bushes, stray leaves and trees. The longer they looked, the further Eggshades' (and likely Pigtails') frustration had risen. Had they really come all this way for  _ nothing _ ??

However- A glare between the leaves of large bushes catches Eggshades' attention. "... Huh?" He pushes through the bushes, to catch a better view. "... Pigtails, Omega. I think I found it!" He shouts. Eggshades had indeed found what they were looking for. A small building, obscured from the rest of the forest. Almost as if it were camouflaged.

Both Omega and Pigtails heard him from wherever they were in the forest. They'd been searching for just as long as Eggshades had, so they got to him as quick as possible.

"Alright, what exactly did you find?" Pigtails asked once she made it over, looking over his shoulder.

Eggshades points to the building in question. "This has gotta be it, right?"

Omega studies it, keeping silent for a moment before speaking. "..It might have to be our best bet."

"Better than nothin'." He agrees

"Right.." Pigtails said. "So how do we go about this? We don't even know what's on the other side of this thing."

"I feel like our best bet is going in quiet. I ain't riskin' getting caught next." Eggshades huffs.

Omega nodded. She thought for a moment, and one hypothetical situation had been brought up in her mind. What if they had brought their weapons? At first, it seemed like a good idea. They could get around quicker and hide better due to being able to swim and camouflage themselves in their ink. Then there were the cons. Weapons made noise, and the ink spread around everywhere would alert whoever was there of their presence. They wanted to be stealthy, not out in the open.

Omega waved off the thought, trying her best to not get lost in them. She looked back over to Eggshades and then at the building. "Let's just see what's on the other side of the door."

"Right. Let's move." Eggshades breaks for the entrance, but sliding next to the entrance as if this was a fucking spy movie.

_ Oh fuck yeah. _ Pigtails started doing the same as him, being just as much of an idiot.

Omega put a hand to her face and silently sighed before she continued with them, but like a normal person.

Eggshades holds himself against the wall, waiting for Omega. "Remember. Stealth." This was not stealth, this was being a moron.

"It's just stairs." Omega said, deadpan.

"Yeah, well there's an elevator too." Pigtails commented, on the wall as well, pointing to a pair of sliding doors that distinctly resembled a hotel elevator. Huh. Convenient.

"You never know what might be at the bottom of those stairs." Eggshades insists, sounding off as if he knew what he was talking about.

"How do you know if there even _is_ a bottom?" Pigtails said, mostly as a joke.

"Whatever, let's just go. Also we're not taking the elevator. It's too loud, and it could raise suspicion."

"Okay, okay. I'm just sayin'."

Omega walked down the stairs while Eggshades and Pigtails did.. whatever they were doing. The closer they got to the bottom, the louder the footsteps got. But they weren't their footsteps.

At the bottom of the stairwell, there was a door. There were more floors, but they'd already checked those doors, and behind them they'd seemed empty. It was strange.. almost as if they were decoys.

Eggshades stops beside Omega. "... More bad vibes, gals." He quietly says.

"Should we go in?" Pigtails whispered.

Omega held up a hand before she carefully walked up to the door and tried to see through the tiny window in the door without being seen. When she saw someone walk by, she quickly ducked down before they could see her.

Eggshades moves over to Omega's spot, trying to avoid being seen. "This... This has gotta be it, right?"

"If we go in, we'll have to make sure we're not seen. That's gonna be hard with three of us, especially since there's people in there." Omega whispered.

"Right..." Eggshades nods. "It doesn't sound too busy in there, so if we're quick 'n quiet enough, we should do fine." He adds, preparing himself.

"Hopefully. Just remember that you can still change to squid form, since people forget about that sometimes." Omega said.

"What makes you think I would forget that?"

Pigtails and Omega look dead at him with blank expressions.

"... Don't answer that."

"Anyway, let's move." Eggshades fidgets with his shades. "We've got a leader to save."

Omega nodded. She checked through the window again, waiting until the path was clear before they went inside. Once there was no one else coming, she looked over at the others for a moment, putting a finger over her lips before she started opening the door.

Eggshades quietly nods, a hand held over his chest.

On the other side, the group is met with three hallways. Two leading left and right, the third straight down. Above them hangs a sign, labeled with directions to specific areas. "Ah... great." Eggshades sighs.

Omega let out a quiet sigh. "Let's read the signs first."

On the first hallway, the sign said 'Offices.' The second sign said 'Experiment Rooms.' And the third sign said 'Subject Containment.'

Omega looked over at the third hallway leading right, then back at everyone else. "..I think this is where we need to go."

Eggshades ponders a thought for a moment before responding. "What if he's in one of the... experiment. rooms?" He hesitates to ask, desperately hoping this was not the case.

Omega's hearts leaped into her throat before she forced it back down, rubbing her face. "Let's not think about that right now. If.... If we can't find him here then we'll.." Omega tried, but she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

Silence followed. The mere idea of Vintage being experimented on carries through their heads for the brief moment, before Eggshades speaks up. "Okay, okay. Here's hoping he's just down there." He says. "Chins up, gals. We can't stick around." He adds, walking down the previously suggested hallway. For a change, he was right. They couldn't stand in the open for long.

Pigtails and Omega followed, walking down the stairs that led to the main hallway. Pigtails had been strangely quiet, mostly just following what they were saying. Omega was just trying to help everyone get around and act as the leader they didn't have.

Before they made it to the bottom, they could hear someone else's footsteps.

Eggshades freezes in place, his breathing cut short. "Shit-." He quietly utters.

Whoever was walking made it to the stairs before stopping. They saw the three of them and began reaching for something in their pocket.

"Uh-!" Ten different alarms go off in Eggshades' head once the individual met eyes with them. He wasn't prepared for the potential consequences, what could he possibly do?

In a rushed panic, Eggshades bolted it at top speed, swinging a clenched fist forward and landing a direct hit square on their forehead. The force behind his punch sends them off their feet.

"AH-" Another voice was heard, and then the thump of two bodies instead of one could be heard. The voiced groaned, and then the three inklings could hear someone get to their feet. "Ow.."

Omega looked over at Eggshades. Pigtails went up to him. "Dude what the hell?"

Eggshades ignored the voice for a moment. "He caught us, the hell did you want me to do??"

"I don't fucking know!" Pigtails said, throwing her arms up.

Omega, instead of listening to them argue, went farther down the steps. At the bottom, whoever caught them was out cold, and there was someone else there too. They were a betta fish from the looks of it. White scales and a pink tint. After seeing her, the betta put his hands up to signify he wasn't gonna hurt them, or that he didn't want her to hurt him.

Eggshades follows Omega down, but continues to argue with Pigtails. "Well, I wasn't just gonna let them up and fuckin' catch us!" He says, turning back around. "I don't-..." His words are cut off, as he finally realizes the betta fish is there.

The betta backed up a bit, their hands still up. "Don't- You won't hurt me, right?"

Omega kind of just stared at them for a moment before looking at Eggshades. Pigtails saw the betta and kind of had a face that said 'oh shit.'

"... Depends. Are you gonna hurt  _ us _ ?" He clearly wasn't going to, but Eggshades may be starting to take this a little too seriously.

Omega put a hand on Eggshades' arm. "Quiet, you're scaring them." Omega walked over to the betta. "We won't hurt you. What are you doing here?"

The betta let their hands down, but took both of their arms in their hands, squeezing them tightly. "I could ask the same to you."

Eggshades releases his grip, and sighs to himself. "... We're looking for someone." He simply responds.

".. You're..." The betta started, their arms hanging to their sides, tilting his head at the statement. "...Who?"

"Short, not-very-muscular dude, rocks the bowlcut. Sound familiar at all?" Eggshades kindly asks,  _ trying  _ to describe their leader to get a better answer.

The betta eyed the group for a moment. "Yeah, that.. does sound familiar. Here, follow me." The betta said, turning around to leave, looking back behind them to check if they were following.

Omega looked over at them for a moment before following. They had no reason not to trust the betta, and they were already so close to finding Vintage. Pigtails followed suit.

Eggshades' expression shifted as the betta answered, and followed without hesitation.

The betta led them down the hall, almost to the end. While they were walking, the three could see that there were multiple rows of these cell-like structures in the wall. It was unclear whether or not they had someone in them or not. Creepy..

The betta began to stop, slowing down at one of the cells, looking in. Their expression changed more to concern before he stepped back. "He's not.. in there."

"What-?" Eggshades raises his voice a little, walking towards the cell. "No, no no no." He repeats, progressively getting angrier. "That-... That must mean-." He looks back to the three, his expression shifting over to deep concern.

Pigtails wanted to scream. She was so  _ frustrated  _ with this, so scared for her leader. Instead of screaming how she wanted to, she forcefully stomped her foot on the ground before crossing her arms.

Omega on the other hand seemed to realize the truth. Her hands were over her chest, moving one up to her mouth, and her eyes were wide with fear. She was  _ so afraid  _ for Vintage.

The betta seemed to already know what this meant.

Eggshades slumped against the cell door, sliding to the floor. He drags his hands down his face, groaning in frustration. "Shiiiit..." He quickly stands. "Okay-. Fuck. There's no time to waste, we have to find him and get him out of here as soon as possible."

Pigtails nodded. "Yeah." She looked over to Omega, who wasn't commenting. "...You okay, 'Meg?"

Omega quickly glanced at Pigtails before her eyes shifted away. She nodded and crossed her arms, but didn't say anything else.

Pigtails didn't try to press further. Instead, she looked over to the one who led them down here. "Hey betta, since you seem to know your way around here, can you lead us to where we needa go?"

The betta looked over. "Yeah. Right." He said before taking the front.

"And.. what's your name, by the way?" Pigtails asked.

"Me?" They started, looking back behind him. "I'm Apollo. Nice to meet y'all."

"Nice to meet ya, Apollo." Eggshades forces a grin. "Sorry for scarin' ya back there. We're a little on edge."

"It's cool." Apollo said, beginning to walk. "I would be too, yknow."

Apollo led them up the stairs to the main hallway where it had broken off into three. It didn't take them long for them to get to the middle hallway.

"No kidding." Eggs agrees. As they walk along the dull and dead silent hallways, Eggshades ponders a thought. "... So, you know Vintage?" He asks.

"Yeah, I know him. We're the only people each other can rely on here." Apollo answered, putting his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. If the rest of them looked close enough, they could see how roughed up and ragged his clothes looked. They were torn in several places, and they were pretty dirty on their own.

"I'd guess so... We could always depend on Vintage in a dire situation, heh." Eggshades noticed the condition of his clothes, indeed. "What... happens in here anyway?"

"Hell if I know." Apollo started. "I know it sounds weird, but for some reason I can't remember what happens. The only things I can remember are.." He trailed off for a second. "...not up for discussion. Its like that with Vintage too."

"Oh man..." Eggshades quietly says to himself. Many thoughts begin to race through his head. That did not sound very good.

"Yeah. I'd imagine what happens here isn't that good for the rest of u-" Apollo's words were cut off. Instead, they were replaced by scream as he fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.

Omega ran over to him in a panic, trying to see what hurt him. She checked, but couldn't seem to find anything. She looked up from him and at the hallway, seeing three security guards, one of which having a taser aimed at Apollo. "Where do you all think you're going?" One of them asks.

"Eggshades froze in place, stepping back a little. "Ohh hell..." He quietly says.

Pigtails looked over at Eggshades. "What do we do now??" She hissed at him.

"I-... I-." Eggshades stammers over his words, clueless of how else he would handle the situation.

The unoccupied two step forward, one going to grab Apollo.

Omega wasn't going to just let them. She bared her fangs at them, letting out a hiss. When they proceeded to come closer, she unsheathed her claws and swiped at one of the guards, a tiger shark, leaving a scratch mark on their face. Whoops.  The guard was forced back a little, yelping in shock.

The other, an urchin, attempts to leap at Omega. "You-!" Eggshades, however, interrupts him with a sound crack to the mouth, "AGH-!" sending them slamming against the hard wall. Time to fight back.

Pigtails felt like this was her cue. "Hey Eggs! I'll handle the shark!" She said, immediately running towards the tiger shark and pouncing towards them with considerable force, sending them both to the floor with Pigtails on top.

"Wh- NGH!" The shark yelps as he's pinned to the floor.

"Urchin boy is all mine." He says with a grin, slamming his fist into his palm. "Omega, you go find Vintage." He insists.

Omega nodded, helping Apollo up. "Get yourself somewhere safe." She said.

Apollo nodded and looked back at the rest of them before running off. He didn't exactly have any way he could help them, considering the lack of claws or defense mechanisms he had.

Omega began to push her way past the guards. She managed, getting farther away from the duo getting themselves into a fight.

The urchin stands, trying to hold their balance. Eggshade's punch seemed to have them dizzy. "Come on, show me what'cha got." Eggshades says, unsheathing his claws and taking a stance.

The tiger shark pushes Pigtails off backwards, attempting to stand in time.

Pigtails landed on her feet and quickly rebounded. She ran behind the tiger shark and began to climb up their back since they were like.. almost 2 feet taller than her. Once she got high enough, she started tearing at the back of the shark's neck with her claws.

"Ah- AH WHAT THE HELL-??" The shark had little to no time to react. They stumble and yell across the hallway, slamming their back into the wall in an attempt to crush Pigtails.

Ooh. That got Pigtails off. She crashed into the wall, releasing her grip on the shark's neck, becoming dazed and dizzy as she slid down the wall.

The urchin manages to regain their focus, throwing a punch at Eggshades. Eggs quickly deflects and throws a punch back. This knocks the urchin back a little, having them stumble. "AGH!" They yelp.

"You gotta be quicker than that, jack." Eggs teases. The urchin rushes back forward, throwing several more wild swings. Eggshades manages to dodge them with ease. The urchin swings forward once more. Eggshades ducks beneath, coming back up with an uppercut. "HYAH!" Eggs yells.

The urchin is knocked down to the floor once more. "That all ya got??" He teases again, hopping on his toes.

Meanwhile, Omega was trying to find Vintage. The only thing she had to go off of was that he was in an experimentation room. What she _didn't_ know is which.

She tried to get farther down the hallway, but then a sharp pain in her back stopped her, feeling as if an electrical current had just run through it. Her running ceased, and she tripped and fell onto the floor.

Eggshades turns to face Omega's direction. "MEGA!" Before he can sprint off to help her, the urchin launches themself forward, nearly catching him with one of their spines. "Woah- Shit!"

The tazer retracts, as the jellyfish walks over to Omega. "What are you bunch'a kids doing here?" They growl.

Omega tried to get herself off the floor before spotting the jellyfish. She carefully stood up and turned around to face them, a glare on her face. "What makes you think I'd tell you?"

"What makes you think you have a choice?" The taser chargers up again, directed towards Omega.

Eggshades looks over helplessly, dodging further urchin spine attacks.

The jellyfish was right. She really didn't have a choice. Though, there was a way she could get herself out of telling them. "Did you do something with you hair?" She started, her demeanor suddenly changing. "I love the way it looks."

"What?" The fish tilts their head at the question.

"Your clothes looks absolutely stunning too." Omega said. "Is it a uniform?" As she was talking, she was also backing up slowly.

"Wh-?? Hold on, don't you-."

Rapid footsteps follow from behind. The jellyfish turns around to find Eggshades running at them at top speed with the urchin chasing behind him. In a panic, the jellyfish completely faces the other direction to stop him. Jellyfish's trigger finger wasn't fast enough, as Eggs moved down to slide right through their legs, thus having the taser hit the urchin instead.

"HA!" Eggs laughs, hopping from the floor, clocking the jellyfish as they turn back around. The fish's lights were out cold. "Tch. Some guards they are." He scoffs, turning to Omega. "You alright?" ... What was that?

Omega smiled at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for that."

From across the hall, they could hear a yell. "HEY GUYS WOULD YOU MIND FUCKING HELPING ME OUT HERE?"

Cut to Pigtails still fighting the tiger shark. They had her from the back of her sweater, holding her above the ground like a cat.

Fortunately for Pigtails, she was flexible. Unfortunately for the tiger shark, that resulted in them getting the back of their head kicked by Pigtails after she flipped around backwards, still in the tiger shark's grip, landing her foot square in their head. The shark let go, and Pigtails finished pushing them to the ground.

Eggshades straightens his F3, showing a hint of self-pride as always. "Go, we'll handle these freaks." He says, running back over to help Pigtails.

Omega nodded. She watched them for a moment, backing away, before turning around and bolting it down the hallway to find Vintage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope y'all are ready for the next chapter :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for graphic violence, guns, blood, and implied self harm

Omega ran. She ran until she got to the end of the hallway, until she couldn't hear them anymore. Once they were out of hearing range, she began to slow down, stopping to take a breath, breathing hard.

While catching her breath, Omega looked in front of her. Instead of there being a dead end like she thought there was, the hall split into  _ more  _ halls, each leading a different way. "Oh great.." She muttered between breaths, her tone annoyed.

The hallways, unlike the previous three, were unlabeled. Though all of them led to testing areas, only one would contain Vintage. But which...?

Omega looked down the hallways, trying to see what was in them. All she could see was rooms, rooms, and more rooms. What were even  _ in  _ those rooms?

She quickly did a game of eenie meenie and chose one of the hallways at random, heading down the pathway in hopes that she was getting closer.

As Omega headed further down the hallway, she could almost feel she was making progress. As if she knew Vintage had to be down here. This had to be the right path, right?

She slowed down, stopping to take a look around. There were several doors lining the hallway, assuming each one lead to a different room. She couldn't hear anything behind them, which was strange. She focused on one in particular. There was nothing really special about it, she just thought there might be something she could get with it.

She moved closer to the door and hesitantly reached for the handle. Maybe she could go inside? It might be the only way to find him. But...

Omega's hand never touched the doorknob. Instead, she felt her arm being yanked away from it.

Her arm was snatched by another jellyfish, different to the one from before.

"Going somewhere?" They simply (but menacingly) ask.

Omega turned to look at them, her eyes wide. She could feel her hearts pounding in her chest, but she tried not to show that she was scared. How was she supposed to handle this?

The fish pulls Omega away from the door, walking further down the hallway. "You and your friends are in a he-."

Before they could finish their sentence, Omega unsheathed her claws and dug into their arm to try and get them to let go of hers.

The jellyfish freezes, yelping at a sudden spike in pain in their arm. "AGH-!!" Omega forces them to release their grip, snapping their arm away from her. Now Omega has to choose - Fight or Flight.

And Omega chose flight. She bolted it down the hallway as soon as she was released from their grip. She frantically looked around for somewhere to hide, and her eyes caught a door that was different from the rest. She skidded to a halt and opened to door, going inside and stepping in, the door slamming shut behind her.

They didn't have time to catch up, the leftover shock from the claw marks still taking over. However, they saw her. The jellyfish chases after her seconds after she sprinted off, barely catching her before she slammed the door. Of course, they try to open the door-.

... It wouldn't open?

Meanwhile, from behind the door, Omega had her hands wrapped around the handle. She was pulling it back, making sure the jellyfish couldn't open the door. It was relatively easy, considering she was actually quite strong.

"Damn it-!" They shout. A patrol runs past them (likely heading for Eggshades and Pigtails). One, however, stops to investigate.

"What are you doing?" They ask.

"They're giving us say more trouble than we thought. Go and inform the boss." The jellyfish replies, struggling some more. The other guard simply nods, continuing to run.

Meanwhile, Eggshades and Pigtails are met with more trouble. Only more guards started to pile up, of which they would have to take down. Others went down far easier than the urchin and tiger shark, who are both miraculously still left standing.

Pigtails is actually pretty scratched up because of her rowdy fighting. She was getting way overly frustrated at this point, which allowed her to essentially unleash hell on these fuckers. She saw more guards coming, but it didn't bother her. She could take on more than one.

She took a running start and tackled one of the guards, sending them to the ground. She dug her claws into their arms, pinning them down, then bared her fangs and bit down into their shoulder. How much longer would they be able to stall for time?

Eggshades looked a bit roughed up himself, being outmatched in terms of numbers. His strength made up for this matter, but he was admittedly getting tired. Someone hasn't been training very much. Regardless, he fought back, throwing punches and slashes. "Vintage better turn up soon..." He grumbles, pushing back the urchin.

The guard Pigtails took down went down like nothing, the other few having to back away as they fell.

Pigtails clamped harder into the guard's flesh before she ripped out a chunk with her beak. Blood filled her mouth, and she spit out the piece of torn off flesh before digging her claws deeper into the guard's arms.

The guard's yelling echos through the halls as Pigtails rips from them, the other guards refusing to touch that. One, however, rushes to grab a hold of her.

Pigtails could hear their footsteps behind her. She quickly released her claws from the first guard's arms, then whipped around, striking the other in the face.

She lands a direct hit across their cheek, drawing blood as her claws slide by. The other guards simply crowd Pigtails, in an attempt to intimidate her. Did it work? Pfff, not even close.

Meanwhile, Eggshades continues his one-on-one with the urchin, dodging and blocking shots left and right. As Eggs lands one more direct shot, the urchin gets noticeably frustrated. He turns to Pigtails. "Yo 'Tails, are you alright over th-?" His words are cut off, as the urchin manages to pin him against the wall. "AH-!" Eggs yelps.

Pigtails' head whipped around to look at Eggshades. She saw him get pinned to the wall, almost running over to try and help him. However, she wasn't able to. When one of the guards saw she was getting distracted, they pulled her off the guard she just tore a piece of skin from, and shoved her outside of the group circle. Two others took the injured one and set them against the wall.

With him finally wide open, the urchin throws Eggshades to the floor, holding him by his arms. He kicks and struggles, grunting loudly as he tries to escape. "Get off'a me!" He shouts. The urchin straightens themselves up, grabbing onto one of their spines and  _ snapping it off of them. _ Oh no... Eggshades' expression shifted from frustration, to creeping fear. The urchin raises their arm with their spine in hand, swinging it down at him.

In a panic, Eggshades manages to free one of his hands, enabling him to deflect the attack. He succeeds, but the spine gets close enough to tear through the fabric of his F3, striking a spot in his chest. "NghAH-!" Eggs yelps, trying to free his other arm. His free hand maintains a grip on the urchin's hand, yet they refuse to let go of the spine.

Pigtails' head whipped around to look at Eggshades. She saw him get pinned to the wall, almost running over to try and help him. However, she wasn't able to. When one of the guards saw she was getting distracted, they pulled her off the guard she just tore a piece of skin from, and shoved her outside of the group circle. Two others took the injured one and set them against the wall.

The other guards surround Pigtails once more, a couple more coming up behind them. Only these two were armed with batons. More trouble, just what she needed. While the other few were trying to stay away from her, the other two rush forward to attack head-on. One steps forward, wildly swinging their baton at the currently wild inkling.

Pigtails dodged the baton with ease. Instead of moving left or right, she went up. She changed into squidform, quickly building up just enough pressure to get her to the ceiling. She released and superjumped up into the air, changing into kid form once she got high enough. The roof was one of those panel roofs, and she knocked one aside with her fist, using her claws to latch onto the inside of the ceiling. She was just dangling above the floor now.

The two baton-wielding guards look in surprise as Pigtails clung to the ceiling. That's... all they could do.

"Catch me now, fuckers." Pigtails said with a sneer. Her eyes shifted from the guards over to Eggshades, and her smile dropped. Oh god. He needed help. She was about to let go before she realized the group of guards were waiting for her to stop holding on. They'd make it impossible for her to get to him.

The urchin breaks free of Egg's grasp, slamming their spine back down at him, landing a hit on the same spot before he could react. Eggshades couldn't help but let out a louder yelp in brief agony. "AAAGH- Mother-!" He shouts, using his free arm to knock the urchin off of him. The force behind his punch sends them on their back, taking their spine with them.

Eggshades sits up, scooting backwards while gripping onto the torn hole in his jacket. "Ungh-. Bastard!" He silently yells to himself through his gritted beak.

"Eggshades holy fuck-" Pigtails said, mostly to herself. She looked down, and the group luckily seemed to disperse enough for her to get through. She hopped down from the roof and ran through the crowd of guards before they could stop her themselves, skidding to a halt once she got over to Eggs. She dropped into a crouching position beside him, a panicked look on her face. "Dude are you okay??"

Eggshades struggles to stand, mostly due to the shock. "I'll be fine... I think. I just know I can't fight like this." He says, tightening the grip on his jacket. "We have to find Vintage and leave,  _ now _ ."

"Right, right, yeah. Let's leave these suckers." Pigtails agreed, looking behind her for a moment.

Pigtails helped Eggshades up the best she could considering her height. "I think I saw her go down this way." She said, trying to bring him towards one of the hallways. She looked back and glared at the guards, doing the 'I'm watching you' motion before continuing.

The guards behind them stay put, most of which were on the floor. Including the urchin and tiger shark, who are both down for the count. The rest were just afraid to get anywhere near Pigtails. The two baton-wielding ones, unlike the rest of them, refused to give up. They charge straight towards them, waving their weapons, ready to strike.

"The nerve of some people." Eggshades lightly scoffs, looking over his shoulder.

"Fucking idiots." Pigtails said. "Stay here, I'll handle it."

She carefully let go of Eggshades before she looked back over at the two baton-wielding morons. In response to them charging at her, she charged at them. Before she got close enough to where they clashed, instead she moved to the side. One of them skidded to a halt after realizing what she was doing. Pigtails moved behind them, and without hesitation the guard whipped around as well.

"Aww, you're learning! How cute~" She teased them. She ran straight for them, grabbing onto their clothes and hanging off them like a cat trying to climb up your shirt. The guard yelped and tried to get her off. They swung the baton at her, but Pigtails was already one step ahead. Before it could hit her, she arched her back and let go of their shirt and quickly reached behind her, grabbing the baton as it was still in motion. In surprise, the guard's grip loosened, and Pigtails took the opportunity to yank it out of their hand. This was  _ her  _ weapon, now.

She leaped off the guard, taking the baton with her. Now disarmed, the guard wasn't sure what to do. While they were distracted, Pigtails lifted the baton over her shoulder. "Batter up!" She swung the baton, hitting the disarmed guard square in the head, sending them to the floor.

The other guard went down with ease. Eggshades leans against the wall to keep his balance, while Pigtails does her thing. "Ooh, that's gotta sting." He chuckles towards them. The other guard decides to go for Eggs instead, raising his baton overhead. "Come on, now." Eggshades says, pushing himself from the wall. "I'm unarmed here." He jokes, putting up his fists.

The guard swings his baton for Eggshades, without much remorse for him. Eggs didn't want to push himself much further. Good thing he's still able to be quick on his feet, dodging to the side. "Whoops." He playfully yelps. The guard, frustrated, starts swinging wild (with no success of landing a blow). "'Tails, he's picking on me!" He calls to Pigtails. How playful, for someone with an actual stab wound.

Pigtails quickly came up behind the guard and landed a swift bonk on the head with enough force to send them down, knocking them out. "Careful, you were just stabbed."

"Hey, his fault for comin' at me like that." Eggshades remarks, leaning back against the wall. "Let's get going."

Pigtails nodded. Before they continued, she crouched down and took the baton from the knocked out guard. She picked it up in her other hand and let out a 'heheh' kind of laugh. "You want it or can I keep it?"

"Don't think I'll be puttin' much use to it." He insists. "Go ahead, dual wield."

" _ Fuck _ yeah." Pigtails said, twirling the batons around in her hands. She almost dropped one, but managed to catch it before it fell. "Anyways, let's go find 'em!"

"Let's move!" Eggshades agrees, moving along the wall to keep his balance.

Pigtails watched him for a moment, considering something. "..Here, lean against me. Might be a little awkward, but it's better than sliding across the wall."

"Ah, fuck awkward.." He says, moving over to Pigtails. "Thanks, 'Tails.."

"No problem." She said, putting an arm around his waist to keep him steady. "What are friends for?"

"Heh, yeah.." Whatever the guards behind them were doing, it was the least of their concern by now. The two hope to find Omega soon.

Only... in the distance, they notice something. One of the guards trying to pry open a door?

Pigtails slowed down to look. She lowered her voice to speak to Eggs. "Hey, stop for a second. You seeing that?" She said, pointing over to the guard.

"Yeah... The hell are they doing?" Eggshades raises an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't they have keys or something? How come they can't open the door?" Pigtails pondered.

"Hmm... Let's check it out."

"Are you implying we just go up to them and ask what they're doing?"

"I'm implying we find out for ourselves."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"No harm in knocking another one out, right?" He shrugs, but he sounded serious.

Pigtails looked down. Oh yeah. She had batons. "Yeah we can do that."

"Sweet. I'll let you do the honors." Eggshades grins.

"Hell yeah." She said. "Get back on the wall. Also I only need one of these, so do you mind holding one for me? Or at least like.. keeping an eye on it."

Eggshades takes one from her grasp and leaned against the wall, like she asked. "Sure. Knock 'em dead... not literally, but y'know."

"I would if I could, buddy." She said, shooting him finger guns before taking the baton in her hands. She immediately began to rush the guard, intending to take them out with a quick hit to the head.

She jumped and raised the baton, getting it over the guard's head before she brought it back down, the combined force of her jump and the force of her own arms sending the guard to the floor, almost immediately being knocked out from the baton swing. "All's clear!" She called over to Eggshades.

"Ha! Nice!" Eggshades replies, making his way over to Pigtails.

"Alright, let's see what's behind the door." She said, trying the knob. When she tried to twist it, it wouldn't open. Seemed to be locked. "...Is someone in there?"

Then she heard the door unlock. She looked over to Eggshades and tried the knob again.

When she opened the door, what she saw wasn't what she had expected at all. The room appeared to be a closet with several shelves lining the walls. She saw Omega standing against the shelves with wide eyes, hands shaking.

"Omega, holy hell, you okay?" Pigtails said, running into the closet to the other.

Eggshades runs with Pigtails, taking up as much concern as Pigtails did. "Are you hurt or anything?"

Omega shook her head, voice trembling a bit as she spoke. "I was caught- I was trying to hide and-"

"Look, it's alright. Pigtails took care of 'em." Eggshades offers an attempt to comfort her. "You're gonna be okay."

A quiet sniffle could be heard "...Okay." She said simply before turning her focus from the floor to her teammates.

She examined the two. What caught her eye first was Eggshades'  _ fucking stab wound. _ "Oh my god- what happened back there?" She said, putting a hand over her mouth.

"I'll explain later, for now we gotta find Vintage." He says, keeping his grip on his jacket.

"..Whatever you say." Omega replied to Eggshades.

Since they were in a closet, Pigtails felt there might be something of use to help Eggshades. After scanning the room many, many times, her search came to no avail. It was just a supply closet, not even having a first aid kit in it. With a groan, she turned her attention back to the group.

Eggshades hadn't been as worried about his wound as he should be. He steps out of the room, looking up and down the hallway. The last thing they need is anymore trouble.

Pigtails scanned the hall. "I think we can continue. Keep a lookout for anything that seems out of place."

Omega nodded and followed the two as they advanced down the hallway.

"Right.." Eggs huffs, moving further up the hallway. He keeps close to Pigtails as they walk. "Ugh.. He could be  _ anywhere  _ in this place..."

Pigtails answered. "I know right? How the hell are we supposed to find him?"

Eggshades ponders their options, only coming up blank. "Damn.. Unless we take a total shot in the dark, I don't know."

"Geez.. That's one hell of a gamb-" She cut herself off as she noticed something.. or someone. "...le.."

"What?" Eggshades questions, looking the same direction. Looks to be someone dressed in scientist-like clothing. From the looks of it, at least. "... I think we've found our ticket." He smirks.

Pigtails gave a beaky grin. That was convenient. "Hows about we go investigate?"

Omega was a little hesitant to follow, but she didn't comment since she knew that whoever it was that walked by might be their only chance.

Eggshades nods. "It's our best bet." He agrees, walking up behind this somebody.

Pigtails stayed near Eggshades and pulled him back once he got too close. "Let's just follow them." She whispered.

"Fine, fine." He scoffs. "Less fighty, more findy."

With Eggshades forcing himself to comply, the three casually follow the scientist up the hallway. It almost felt like it dragged on for miles.

After a couple long minutes, the scientist finally began slowing down. They came to a door, twisting and unlocking the knob before stepping in. However, the three managed to catch a glimpse of what was inside before the door closed.

With the short amount of time they had, all they saw was... someone. Someone holding up an inkling from the floor, looking exhausted. Almost... motionless, even. There was a second inkling there as well, but they looked just fine, compared to the other.

After the door closes, Eggshades quietly whispers a name under his breath.

Pigtails and Omega both had this sinking feeling in their stomach. Omega looked over to Eggshades. "What is it?" She asked, albeit a bit hesitantly.

"I know him when I see him... that was him." Eggshades looks back to the two, the most worried expression they had ever seen on his face.

"... That was Vintage..."

Omega stared at the door, a worried and almost fearful look on her face. Pigtails, on the other hand, seemed to be thinking about something.

Eggshades always could tell when Pigtails was scheming. "... What do you think?" He asks her.

"Tryin'a think of ways to get him out of there." Pigtails answered.

"How are we supposed to do that??"

"Well, we can either rush in with our weapons-" Pigtails held up her batons, "-see what's inside the room first, or grab Vinny and run."

Eggshades ponders the given options for literally only a few seconds. "... Okay, hear me out: Why not all three?"

"I-.. Well shit. You're right." Pigtails agreed.

"Exactly." He stands straight, ready to up and barge in. "Ready when you guys are."

"Wait wait-" Omega spoke up this time. "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"Well-... Hm." He  _ did  _ nearly jump the gun without planning this out first. He decides to take a minute to think this through. "... Okay. If Pigtails and I use our ultra cool fighting skills, you can grab Vintage and bolt. We'll be right behind you."

"Have you forgotten about your stab wound?” Omega said, shutting him down almost immediately. “I'm not a doctor, but I’m fairly __ sure you're not supposed to fight like that. You could just make it worse.”

"Well, I-. I jus-." He pauses, his grip tightening on his jacket. As much as he wants to take care of himself, he wants to rescue his frie- leader even more. "Aaagh..."

Omega put her hands on Eggshades' shoulders. "Listen. I know you want to help, but I also know that as much as you want to,  _ you can't risk it. _ It causes more problems for us and yourself."

Eggshades sighs to himself. "Then what do you suggest..?"

"First off, you stay here. Don't waste your energy." Omega said.

"Yeah. We can take care of it anyways, right, 'Mega?" Pigtails chimed.

Omega nodded to her. "Yeah."

"... Right. I'll at least keep watch out here." Eggshades nods, agreeing to refrain from causing them anymore trouble.  "Go and get 'em." He only grins, to offer them confidence instead.

"Thanks, 'Shades." Omega said with a smile, releasing his shoulders from her grip. "Sit down, at least."

Eggshades nods as he complies, slumping against the wall.

"And just.. try to keep it covered." Omega said before walking over to Pigtails to discuss further.

"I got you guys." He replies, giving a thumbs up. "Just go and get him."

Omega looked back over at Eggshades, returning the thumbs up. Then she turned back to Pigtails. "How exactly do we wanna do this?"

"I'll go in first and take care of whoever's there." Pigtails hints to her batons, spinning them (only once this time). "Once that's over with, you grab Vintage, and we book it out of there."

"Right.." Omega said. She kept quiet for a moment, thinking about something. "Hey, did you see that other inkling in there?"

"Huh?" She took a second to remember. "Oh... yeah, who was that?"

"I don't know.." She said, pondering something. "Do we do something about them, too?"

"I guess? Whatever they're doing to Vinny, they gotta be doing the same to them, too." She suspects, crossing her arms.

"Yeah.." Omega said. "Let's head in with the plan. Just tell me when."

"Right." Pigtails readies herself, clutching her batons in hand. "Ready..."

"...  _ Go _ ." Pigtails rushes through the door, running at whoever caught her eye first. Which would be the guard from before, their eyes widening as they look behind them.

"Hey, WH-" The guard yelped.

Pigtails leaps from the floor, lunging at them full speed. Their words are then quickly cut off by a hard  _ WHACK  _ from one of her batons, sending them immediately to the floor. Pigtails sticks her landing, sliding across the hard floor on her two feet. The scientist turned to her in complete shock, reactively dropping a motionless inkling to the floor. Hey, wait... Pigtails turns to face the scientist, her eyes shifting to the downed inkling.

"Vintage!?" She shouts.

Hearing Pigtails' shout, Omega figured she should come in. She slid in through the doorway to see what she was talking about. Upon looking, she stopped in her tracks, covering her mouth. "Oh my god-"

There he was. Vintage. After 2 months of nothing, she finally gets to see him - and his condition was far worse than they thought at first.

He lies cold on the floor, with his eyes closed shut, looking nearly lifeless as he doesn't move a muscle. His Nylon jacket was wrinkled, dirtied, and torn at the sleeves, dark bags hung under his eyes, his skin was noticeably paler than it should be, and his breathing sounded short, rough and dry. Needless to say, he looked a right mess. They have to help him as soon as possible. They  _ have  _ to.

Omega's eyes were wide as she studied him. He looked awful. What had they been doing? This wasn't right. This wasn't right at all-

She took her hands off her mouth to speak. "Pigtails... take out the scientist. I'll- I'll take Vintage."

Pigtails simply spun her batons in response, taking off at high speed at the scientist and performing the exact same move on them. A swift knockout. Of course, much like the guard, they didn't have much time to react. But that leaves them with-... oh.

The other inkling stands at the corner of the room, looking forward in stunned disbelief. He had the same hairstyle as Vintage. Matter of fact, he had the same sharp eyes. He also had nearly the same... clothes...

Omega kneeled down and carefully picked up Vintage in her arms, holding him as if he were a delicate object that would shatter if she dropped him. She looked at his sunken and almost lifeless face and felt a pang of sadness. She had to get him help soon.

Vintage remained motionless in Omega's grasp. His breathing, up close, sounded rather shaky.

Omega looked over at Pigtails, then at what she was looking at. She was looking at the inkling they'd seen earlier. The inkling looked... eerily similar to Vintage. How in the world..?

Omega shook her head slightly as if to clear her thoughts. "Pigtails, bring him with us." She ordered, turning her head back to the other.

"I-... Yeah, okay." Pigtails agrees, grabbing onto his hand. Now is no time for questions.

"Wh- Huh?" Is all the inkling could manage to make out before she took off.

Omega followed Pigtails, keeping Vintage close to her. Not long after, Pigtails slowed, catching her breath once she got to Eggshades. "You're not gonna believe this."

Eggshades looked from his spot, noticing Pigtails in panic. "'Tails?"

 

Omega stood next to her. "We found Vintage, but there's.. someone else, too."

Pigtails looked over at the inkling who stood behind her and ushered him to her side to show Eggshades.

The inkling stood in surprise, his hand still in Pigtails' grip. They looked confused, so much so that they didn't say anything.

Eggshades' eyes widened, though the only hint towards his shock would be his eyebrows flung over his shades. "Oh my god..." He quietly says, struggling to stand up. "There's-. Gh... There's two??"

"Looks like it." Pigtails answered. She looked to the strange inkling for a second, eyeing him with something unreadable.

While they talked, Omega noticed Eggshades' behavior. She knew he had a stab wound, and they needed to get that treated,  _ fast _ . "We need to leave quick."

Eggshades tightens his grip further, looking down to Vintage. "Oh-. Fuck, yeah right right." He agrees, moving back. "Come on-. Let's get moving."

The inkling remained speechless, and seemed to only choose to follow them due to their care for Vintage.

Pigtails moved over with the inkling to Eggshades to support him again, letting him lean into her while they moved.

Omega took the front. "We'll go back the way we came."  _ If we can remember, that is. _ "We need to find the stairwell again."

Eggshades, tired, leans into Pigtails' support like before. The stab wound must be getting to him. Regardless, he keeps a tight grip, holding onto his wound. "Yeah-. Just look for stray spots of blood. That urchin was fuckin' my shit up, heheh..." He gives a slightly weakened chuckle.

"Right. Let's hope we don't encounter anyone else."

"The guards back at the main hallway should've left by now. Probably to report us, but who gives a shit? Its not like we're sticking around for much longer." Pigtails added.

"So long as we're outta here fast enough." Eggshades replies.

The inkling behind them remained quiet for some time, before deciding to speak up. "What.. is happening?" He asks.

Pigtails' eyes shifted to him. "A lot's happening, bud. We'll explain later, alright?" She spoke a little slower than she normally did to make sure the inkling could hear her.

The inkling only mumbled a response. He continues to follow behind them, his eyes shifting back (and locking on) to Vintage.

As they were moving, Omega's eyes continued to dart between Vintage and Eggshades, worried for both of them. After a second or two of silence, Omega moved closer to Eggs to speak. "How are you holding up? What happened?"

"I've been better, honestly.. Fuckin' urchin got me good." He huffs, trying to keep up. "Like.. with his own spike, too.."

"Wait, with his own spine?" Omega sounded alarmed. "Eggshades, urchins have poisonous spines."

"Do they..?" Eggshades asks. Moron...

" _ That's not- _ " Omega sounded panicked at first, but she paused and took a deep breath, regaining her composure. "That's not good. Hopefully we can get out of here without any trouble."

"... Right." He agrees. "Let's move."

From below, Omega hears a mumble.

Omega nearly jumped when she heard the voice. Her hearts beat faster as she looked down.

Vintage's eyes were barely open, so exhausted he couldn't make sense of what was going on. "They'll be-... coming..." Was the only thing he could say before slipping back to unconsciousness.

"Huh?" Eggshades' ear twitches at the sound of his voice. "You say somethin', kid?" He gestures to the inkling.

"That was.. not me..." He quietly replies. Not like he would know what to think of that statement, anyhow.

That was ominous. Omega thought about what Vintage said, trying to make sense of it, but she couldn't seem to figure it out. Omega's ears lowered and she let out a quiet sigh, keeping quiet after that.

"Hm." Eggshades didn't hear his words too well.

Though, Omega would start to ponder it's meaning. Perhaps... a warning?

She thought about it some more. What kind of warning could he have given? It's not like he's a prophet or anything. There has to be a logical explanation for it.

Whatever it meant, she couldn't focus on it right now. She just needed to get them all out safe.

Pigtails walked further down the hallway, and finally they got to where the halls came back together. Pigtails let out a sigh of relief. At least this hall had ended. They only had a couple more to go. "I think we're almost the-"

Her words were cut off by the sound of a gunshot.

The group flinch at the sound, including the clone-like inkling. Eggshades turns to look behind them, only to find a suspicious unfamiliar face. "What the hell-?" He mutters.

The gunshot came from someone with thick, red hair holding up a gun, smiling an unnatural smile. They looked back at the group, but somehow the four of them couldn't see their eyes. They lowered the gun, only to take it in both hands to cock it. "Did you really think you'd get away?"

The inkling fully turns to face them, looking in total shock. Eggshades moves in front of the four, intent on protecting them despite his condition. "Who the hell are you..?"

"Unlike the rest of the idiots in this building, I'm not afraid to kill." They said, walking towards them, ignoring Eggshades' question. They aimed the gun. "I can't let you leave."

Eggshades bares his beak, ready to fight again. "Oh yeah, well too-." The inkling pulls him aside as a not-so-warning shot is fired in their direction. "WOAH-." Eggs yelps.

"We have to be leaving, now!" The inkling repeats, signaling Pigtails and Omega to run.

And so they did run. Pigtails helped Eggshades down the hall as best as she could while Omega still had Vintage with her. She tried her best to keep him covered so that he wouldn't get hurt.

Another gunshot was heard. "It's a shame, really.." The gun-wielding somebody called after them, staying farther behind. They were following them. "Having to get rid of our biggest project.."

"Project?" Eggshades questions to himself, under his breath. Could they be referring to this inkling? What happened here...?

"Where do we go??" The inkling asks only to Omega.

"This way." Omega answered, pointing in a direction before following her movements, the inkling following shortly behind.

Another bullet. Pigtails ducked instinctively, seeing the bullet hit a wall.

"Right.." The inkling nods, deciding to stay close to Omega. Almost as if he preferred to be closer to Vintage.

The group makes it to the staircase, and more bullets whiz past them as they duck and dodge out of harm's way. All the meanwhile, Eggshades' movement is progressively getting more and more sluggish. "Come on, we're almost-." His speech is interrupted by a soft cough. "-almost outta here.." He finishes.

Omega looked over at Eggshades, noticing him getting worse. "We'll take the elevator this time. They won't be able to follow us, and we can buy t _ ime- _ " She dodged a bullet, ducking her head. "Quick, get into the stairwell. The elevator's inside there."

They rush to the elevator, dodging oncoming fire. Eggshades, slumps against the wall, mashing a button to get them moving. "Come on, come on!"

The inkling keeps himself to the wall, clutching onto his jacket sleeves. He seems so confused, and scared. Who (or what) is he?

Thank god the elevator doors closed in time. The floor shifted, and the group could feel the elevator rising to the top.

Omega let herself rest. She leaned against the wall, still holding Vintage. Pigtails sat next to Eggshades to check up on him, muttering questions to him to make sure he was okay.

Omega looked over at the inkling, feeling a little sorry for him. He looked so frightened…

Eggshades was busy keeping himself at ease, leaning his arm against the wall. "Man... That really sucked." He huffs, catching his breath. He looks back to the others. "Is everyone okay?"

The inkling didn't respond to Eggs and remained silent, slumping to the floor. The only noticeable movement from him would be his eyes, constantly darting from the floor to Vintage, back and forth.

Omega was looking back at Vintage. She was thinking, so much so that she didn’t respond. She just kept her eyes on Vintage

Pigtails let out a quiet sigh, breaking the silence with her speech. “I’m fine. I just have a few scratches, is all. And a bite somewhere from shark bitch, but it’s nothing to worry about I think.”

"I don't believe I am harmed..." The inkling finally speaks, only not breaking his sights on the floor (and Vintage). He proceeds to tug at his sleeves as the elevator climbs.

"Good..." Eggshades looks down, at his wound. It felt as if the effects were slowly, but surely getting progressively worse.  _ This fucking elevator better hurry up. _

As if to answer his wish, the elevator finally stopped, the doors opening. Omega looked up from Vintage, and Pigtails got up to check and see if everything was clear. She stood in the doorway, peeking out from around the corner to see if anyone was there. Thank god she didn't see anything. She let out a sigh of relief and turned to the rest of them. "We can leave. No one's here."

"Ah, good." Eggshades says, standing himself up. He stumbles a bit, but manages to keep his balance. "Let's hightail it the fuck outta here."

The inkling stands as well, waiting to step out beside Omega.

The group head out of the elevator, opening the door to the outside and stepping out.

Taking a breath, they could feel the crisp, cold air filling their lungs. They were outside. They'd left. They'd accomplished their mission of finding Vintage. Despite it only being about an hour they were inside, it felt like an eternity.

Omega looked up. Through the trees, Omega could spot the moon high in the sky, stars twinkling and glittering as the seconds ticked away. It was nighttime when they'd gotten to the forest, so it wasn't surprising that it still was.  She looked back in front of her. Just because they were out of the facility didn't mean they were entirely safe.

She started walking, picking up her pace while she talked. "Let's get out of the forest. We only have so much time."

Eggshades nods. "Right. 'Tails, some help over here..?" He asks as he moves forward.

Pigtails nodded, moving over to help Eggshades walk, trying to keep up with Omega.   


The inkling followed behind, clearly admiring the stars above through the gaps between the trees. The sight almost relieved him... almost. He stares forward to the four, his arms folded and hands grasping onto the sleeves of his jacket. "Where.. is this?" He asks, rather quietly.

Pigtails looked over to the inkling. "We don't know. We were led here by GPS, and that's how we found this place."

"Ah... What is a GPS?" The inkling asks.

"No t-. time for that.. come on." Eggshades interrupts, sliding himself into the passenger seat of their car.

Omega called over Pigtails who came to her aid, opening the backseat door so that she could put Vintage in. Omega carefully, delicately set him down, shutting the door afterwards.

Omega didn't get in right away. She took out her phone and began dialing a number, putting it up to her ear. "...I'm calling the police."

"Good, get this fuckin' place dealt with." Eggshades lets out a light, weak growl before turning to the inkling. "Hop on in, little dude..." He calls.

The inkling, without hesitating much at all, crawls in from the other end, taking the middle seat so he was sat next to Vintage. He gets a good, sound look at his condition, which kept his worry at an odd balance.

Eggshades rummages through the glove compartment, searching for a bandage roll. Or a napkin. Tissue?  _ Something  _ to help himself. "Ugh... Damned-." He mumbles to himself.

While Omega was on the phone, Pigtails was leaning against the door to the driver's seat, waiting for her to finish. She got pretty bored of that eventually before she opened the door to the car and slid into the driver's seat, reflexively gripping the wheel. She looked over at Eggshades. "How’re you holdin' up? I think there's a first aid kit somewhere around here."

"Starting to feel like crap, honestly..." Eggshades responds. After some feeling around, he finally finds the aforementioned first aid kit. "Got it!" He yelps, getting to patching himself up.

The inkling held up in the back seat remains silent, keeping a close eye on the still-unconscious Vintage.

Pigtails turned the heater on. It blew out cold air at first, which she wrinkled her nose to, but eventually it began to warm up. She looked back to Vintage, then back at Eggshades, releasing her grip from the wheel. "...You think he'll wake up? Vintage, I mean."

Eggshades didn't react to the further touch of the cold. "I hope so." He says, wrapping a nice, thick line over the spot on his chest. "He has to..."

"Maybe.. maybe when it starts to warm up something'll happen." She hoped. She leaned back in the seat, closing her eyes for a moment. She looked back behind her again, but this time to the kid. Maybe she should take the chance to learn more about him.

"Hey kiddo, what's your name?" She asked, turning her waist around to face him fully, folding her arms and setting them on the thing in the middle of the passenger and drivers seat, resting her head on top of her forearms.

The inkling turns to Pigtails. perking up as she asked. "Huh-? Oh..." He pauses, taking a moment to think to himself. But... nothing? "I don't... I don't know my name." He finally replies. "I don't believe I was ever given one..."

Pigtails glanced over to Eggs.  _ Oh god, this kid doesn't have a name. _ "Do you... wanna be called something? We can't just be calling you 'kid' forever."

"I'm not sure what I would go by..." The inkling frowns, further thinking of his situation.

Eggshades leaned against his seat, placing his arms behind his head. "Well... I guess we're callin' youuu..." He pauses, thinking of something "...Crusher."

"Crusher...?" The inkling tilts their head, confused.

"Yeah yeah, Crusher. After the Windcrusher jacket, y'know?" Eggs explains in a simple manner. "Well-. That, and it sounds kinda cool."

The inkling beams at his suggestion. "I see... Crusher..." He then nods, making his decision. "Crusher. I like that..."

Pigtails smiled at him. "Well then, Crusher. Nice to meet ya!"

Their moment was cut off when Omega opened the door to the back, taking a seat next to Crusher. She leaned back against the seat, sighing.

"Hey 'Mega. How'd the call go?" Pigtails asked.

Omega scrolled through her phone. "They're sending over police and paramedics. We can get Eggshades and Vintage help, along with whoever might be stuck down in the facility. Hopefully there'll be arrests, too. We might have to talk to the authorities, too." Omega paused for a moment. Letting out a sigh, she continued her speech. "But for now... let's just rest. It's been a long night."

"Sounds good to me." Eggshades doesn't hesitate to agree, facing back forward and sighing to himself.

The inkling, now named 'Crusher', seems to feel somewhat better with the situation, even forgetting that they were all getting shot at mere minutes ago.

"Yes... rest." He says, looking back to Vintage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am SO fucking sorry for how long this took since the last chapter ehnjwEJNCEFKLFCE hope y'all enjoyed tho!! next chapter'll probably come out way sooner than it did this one


	8. Chapter 8

Finally, it was over. A series of pain and stress, all leading to a daring escape with their team leader, who was left in terrible shape upon retrieval. They'd also taken another subject with them; another inkling boy who, eerily enough, takes after the appearance of Vintage almost entirely. What exactly was going on around them all the meanwhile remains a mystery to the group... However, thanks to Omega's distress call, the authorities have taken care of the ominous underground operation, and have escorted most of the subjects held within the facility to safer surroundings.

Fast forward - Three days following the incident.

Vintage and Eggshades had been taken to the nearest hospital for proper treatment during the bust, while Omega and Pigtails have kept the inkling (now known as Crusher) under their own personal care for the time being. The group had been visiting the two ever since they arrived, partially to keep an eye on Vintage's progress. Today counts another visit.

Omega walked in through the door, taking a glance around at the hospital room she'd seen plenty of times before. She waved at Eggshades before looking over at Vintage, who was still unconscious in his hospital bed. She let out a sigh through her nostrils, lowering her ears a little bit.

She fully walked in through the door, and Pigtails came in behind her, carrying a tiny Clam Blitz figurine set, complete with a basket, power clams, and even the regular clams. Not too long after, Crusher came in as well, as he'd mostly been following the two inklings who'd been taking care of him around everywhere. Not that he was complaining, though. The frequent hospital visits gave him the opportunity to see Vintage.

"Hey Eggs! How's it been? Hospital treating you well?" Pigtails trilled at him, setting down her set on the ground near Vintage's bed. She hovered her fist above the ground, unclasping it, releasing several smaller clams near the basket, forming themselves into a messy pile, and separating 3 power clams off to the side. She looked over to Crusher and beckoned him over, to which he obliged, sitting down next to her.

Eggshades sits himself up straight once they enter. "Hey, guys..." He certainly looked to be in much better condition, a newly wrapped bandage around his chest. "Same shit, y'know. Been talking to a brick wall over there." Eggs jokes, lightly chuckling. His ears perk up, noticing the items Pigtails had brought with her. "... Hey, you brought the Clam Blitz set."

"Yeah! I'm hoping Vinny wakes up sometime soon so we can play again. ...I kinda miss it, y'know?" Pigtails said. She picked up a couple of regular clams and set it up on Vintage's nightstand, just in case. She then turned to Crusher, giving him a smile. "You wanna learn how to play Clam Blitz?"

Eggshades chuckles. "You and Vinny sure did play it often."

Crusher looks to Pigtails, holding a couple clams in each hand. "Clam Blitz..." He tilts his head at her offer. "Hm... You have played this with Vintage before?"

"Yeah! Me and Vinny, we used to rule the battlefield. No one but us could get close to the basket. God, Clams is fun, but it's also so fucking stupid. Way too complex compared to the other modes. Also don't ask what fuck means." She started, directing the last comment at Crusher.

"Anyways, this is the basket, and this is a power clam." She pointed to the basket, then picked up a power clam to show Crusher. "This is a regular clam. The goal of Clam Blitz is to fill the other team's basket with as many clams as you can. If you fill it all the way up, that's a knockout.

"Right now, the basket's closed, but there's a way to break through it! See these little clams here? You need to collect 10 of them, and that creates one'a  _ these _ ." She mimicked collecting 10 power clams, then replaced them with one power clam. "Once you get a power clam, you need to start heading to the basket. Enemies will be everywhere, so make sure you have a good shot before you dive in! Once you're up, you chuck the power clam at the basket, and then boom! The basket's opened!" She picked up the power clam, maneuvering it into the basket, before unzipping the zipper on the back of the basket, the covering falling away, revealing the net on the inside.

"Power clams count for 20 points, and small clams count for one. If you wanna be efficient, get the rest of your team to grab power clams too, but if you just have a bunch of tiny clams, it'll work fine, as long as you don't die while throwing them." She explained further. Damn, she must  _ really  _ know a lot about this mode.

As Pigtails explains the mode, Crusher sits quietly, like a child being read a story. He was so interested, you could tell he was taking down notes in his head. "I see, I see..." He says, putting the two clams on Vintage's bed for a moment. "So... you would play this with Vintage. It sounds like fun..."

"It  _ is  _ fun. But just don't be surprised when you lose. Your team's probably gonna have  _ horrible  _ coordination, especially if you're playing solo. Solo means alone, I don't know if you know that or not." She looked down at the set, the basket still opened, she looked down at the little football-shaped clam in her fingers, and was thinking for a moment.   


"Man I miss playing with him. We really did have a lot of fun together." She paused for a moment, thinking about something. "I remember the first time we got into a Clam Blitz match. We were both C- in that mode. C-! It feels like  _ forever  _ ago, but I sure as hell remember it like it was yesterday. Vinny had to help me reach the fucking basket. It was.. actually pretty embarrassing. Vintage kind of lost his balance while I was trying to dunk the clam, and so then he fell, and then  _ I _ fell, and then we were fouled for misconduct and gave our team a penalty. And then we lost! Good times." She laughed, seeming genuinely happy about remembering her times with Vintage. "I wish we could have that kind of fun again."

Upon her last sentence, a stray clam is tossed into the basket with a small  _ clink _ . Crusher looks back to the bed, noticing one of his clams were missing. But above the single clam on the bed?

Eggshades shot up from his spot in pure shock, going so far as to remove his shades from his eyes to see if they were playing tricks on him. They most certainly were not. "... V-. Vintage?"

"... Bullseye." Vintage weakly scoffs.

Omega looked up from her seat, her eyes wide. She stared in shock for a moment, before.. she began to smile. This was the first genuine smile they'd seen out of her in a long time. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, and she got up from her chair, running over and hugging Vintage as tight as she could without crushing him. Her smile broke into a beaky grin as tears of joy streamed down her face.

Eggshades didn't hesitate to get out of bed, rushing over to ensnare him into a hug just as tight. "Dude...!" He shouts as he dashes over.

Vintage flinches a bit as Omega and Eggs dive in for the hug, being still somewhat sore. "Hn-! Hello, everyone..." He weakly says, with a softened smile. He looks over from the two, noticing Pigtails hasn't moved.

Pigtails was just staring in shock, still holding the power clam she had earlier. Once everything processed, she dropped the clam and immediately got up and joined the hug, making a couple of happy noises at Vintage.

As she joined in, Vintage finally hugs them all back. Finally, the X4 was back together. "Sorry.. It's... been too long..." He says. His voice sounded quite tired... and raspy.

"I missed you so, so much I-" Omega started, talking through her tears. "It's so good to have you back-!"

"For real.. I- I thought we lost you back there, man..!" Eggshades' voice begins to break. Yes,  _ Eggshades  _ was about to cry. That's a sight you don't see too often.

"It's good to  _ be  _ back, Omega..." Vintage hums, closing his eyes to fully take in the moment. "I've missed you all as well..."

Crusher stays quietly seated below, staring at the four in a genuine taste of awe.

The group stayed like this for a good while. Nobody wanted to release their grip from their tight embrace on Vintage. Everything just finally felt... right.

"... Okay, I can't breathe..." Vin huffs.

Pigtails let go first, giving a nervous chuckle. "Sorry man, we're just.. really happy to see you."

Eggshades pulls back, keeping his wide smile. "Yeah... It's been way too long, dude..." He says, sniffling in between statements.

"I understand... I'd be lying if I said I'm not grateful to see you all again." Vintage pauses, getting a good look at his teammates. How long had it been? Since he was... since...

Vintage's eyes suddenly widen, his expression shifting over to shock, looking around the room. "Wait-. Where am I? Where's Apollo??" He shows small amount of panic.

Omega stood back a bit, realizing his shock. "Okay, calm down." She coaxed, trying to keep her voice as calm as she could. "Firstly, you're in the hospital. We got you out of the facility and called 911 once we were all out. You were in.. really bad condition when we got to you, and we had to keep you here for your own safety."

Pigtails spoke up next. "And Apollo? He's the betta fish we saw, right?" She looked over to Omega, who nodded, and Pigtails continued. "To tell you the truth, we don't exactly know. We know he's out of the facility now, but not sure of his whereabouts right now."

"I'm... out?" Vin looks around the room, as if the realization just hit him. "... I'm out." He quietly repeats, a sigh of relief following. "Oh cod, I'm out..."

"... Did you all really go to such lengths.. to save me?" He asks, looking back to them with a hand on his chest.

"Of course we did, buddy. We were looking for you the entire time you were gone." Pigtails said. "We couldn't just stand by when we found out where you were."

"Yeah! We weren't gonna stand around while our leader-... No, our  _ friend  _ was in that kinda danger." Eggshades exclaims.

Vintage didn't know what to say to this. They really did care... "I-... I'm-." He trips over his own words.

Omega gave him a warm smile and another hug, but this time it was quick and short. "Yeah. We really care about you, y'know."

Vintage only gave a small, but noticeable, smile at Omega's hug. "Right, I-... I can't find the right words to thank you all." He admits. It was true, he wasn't sure what he would say. What could make up for all the times he's scolded Eggshades for being late to meetings? ... Though, Eggshades even seems happy to find him safe. "... Thank you." He speaks up.

She sat down on the edge of his bed, her tone shifting to a more serious one. "Can you tell me what the last thing you remember is?"

"The last thing I remember...?" Vintage pauses for a moment, having to think back. "I... don't remember a lot of things. I remember... a large machine. It was quite.. painful." Vin thinks back further. "I also remember-... I-." He stops himself, finally noticing the biggest detail in the entire room.

Crusher. He'd been sitting on the floor the entire time, just watching the team reunite. Though... Oh, he's noticed you. Do something. "H-.. Hello, Vintage."

Him. It's  _ him _ . "You... He's here too?" Vintage seems to recall seeing Crusher at some point?

Pigtails looked over at Crusher, quietly sucking her teeth. "Yeahh, we kinda brought him along too because we couldn't just  _ leave  _ him there, y'know?"

"Yeah. We kinda decided it would be best." Eggshades adds to Pigtails' statement. Vintage and Crusher do not respond, and only stare at each other in awkward silence for a solid minute.

"I... I see." Vin quietly replies. He's not quite sure what to say about  _ this  _ either. "Has he been.. giving you any trouble at all?" He suddenly asks.

"Nope, not really. He's kind of just been hanging around us and we've been taking care of him. He gets a little curious sometimes, but it's not a big deal at all. I like teaching him about new things." Pigtails said, flashing a smile at Crusher. "I just told him about Clam Blitz earlier if you didn't already hear."

Crusher replies to Pigtails only with a small, innocent smile. "Clam Blitz does sounds like fun.."

"Hm..." Vintage tries think further back. He vaguely remembers hearing brief conversations between two individuals about this... thing. However, they weren't coming to him very clearly. Vin simply shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. "Right..." He silently responds, avoiding any further eye contact with Crusher. "... So how long have I been out?"

"You've been out for three days. Though if you wanna know how long you've been  _ gone _ ," Omega started. "... then that's a completely different story."

"Right... Sorry for keeping you all worried." Vin apologizes, looking down to his hands as he remembers his time in a cell. "I... I lost track of how long I was gone." He admits, looking back up to Omega. "Apollo kept record for us..." He sighs to himself. What happened to Apollo? Where is he? These questions continue to run through his head.

"... Wait, so you and Apollo were like. friends?" Eggshades raises the question that he assumes was on everyone's mind.

"That would make sense why they knew where he was.." Omega speculated with Eggshades.

"True..." Eggshades folds his arms, looking to Omega and Pigtails.

"... Yes. You could say we were friends." Vintage confirms(?). "Though... we were not so friendly at first."

"We were the only two people that understood our situation better than most. Two lost souls, with little to no sign of hope left to keep a grip onto." He begins. "We were at eachother's throats, like the rest of them - lasting for the first... week, I believe."

Eggshades turns back to Vintage as he remembers. "What? He seemed  _ way  _ too nice to be like that."

"Yes... A lot of the subjects held within that...  _ prison _ ..." He clenches onto the bedsheets. "... were much different from Apollo. But they had their ways of showing aggression if necessary." Vintage says, pausing a moment to sigh, letting his grip loose. He remembers more moments from the cell. "After all... There is very little to show kindness towards in that place."

"Well..." Pigtails paused for a moment. Vintage seemed to care a lot about this betta. "..If we ever find out where he is, we'll tell you, alright?"

Vintage's ears twitch as they ever-so-slightly perk up. "... I would appreciate that." He offers a small smile to Pigtails. "Thank you."

"Of course!" Pigtails slung her arm around his shoulder. "Anything for a friend!"

'Friend'... admittedly, made Vintage's smile brighten. "Of course..." He quietly mutters, raising his arm to give her a gentle pat on the head.

Pigtails smiled when he gave her a pat, and she was already practically radiating happiness. She sat down on the other side of the bed across from Omega, looking over at Vintage before glancing back at Crusher.

"Is there anything else you remember?" Omega asked.

"I... I do not remember much, I'm afraid." Vintage says in solemn, looking back down to his hands, still grasped onto the bedsheets. He seems troubled as he thinks back. "For the most part, I was treated with little respect... going so far as to limit my diet when I did not comply with what they wished of me."

"Are you serious? Ugh..." Eggshades grunts, slowly balling up a fist. "If we'd have known what they were doing to you before–."

"Calm down, Eggs. It's alright." Vintage mutters, cutting Eggshades off as he gently pushes his clenched fist down. "I vaguely remember being experimented on... as if that were my purpose there. That was the case for all of us, it seems. Lab rats, test dummies they could toy with whenever they pleased." He pauses, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. The more he remembered, the more pent up he became. "I managed to get by... even if it was rather difficult." He tries to continue. "I suppose I also have Apollo to thank for that... In all honesty, he was the only good thing to come out of that place."

"That's... horrible, Vintage." Omega said, raising a hand up to her chin. "I.. I wish we'd done something sooner.."

"Do not put the blame on yourselves." Vintage raises his voice, only by a small margin. "None of you are to blame for my situation. It... It's-." He stammers.

"... I am at fault... for being so foolishly careless..." Vin closes his eyes, sighing in shameful self-defeat. "I should have known better than to trust that offer... How mindless of me..."

"Hey, no, it's alright. It's.. really more our fault for encouraging you, even if it was suspicious." Pigtails said in an attempt to make him feel better.

"Hm..." Vintage chooses not to argue, as much as he wants to admit his own faults. He opens one of his eyes, locking his stern view on Crusher.

Crusher's expression hadn't changed yet. That is, until his eyes met Vintage's. By then it had changed to slight anxiousness. Many possibilities race through his head as he locks eye contact with Vin's single eye.

"... So. What have you been calling this... kid?" Vintage asks his team.

"We've been calling him Crusher. He's named after his jacket." Omega answered, gesturing to the Takoroka Windcrusher the inkling wore.

"Crusher..." Vintage repeats with a squint, his tone lowering in pitch, slowing his pace.

"Uh..." Crusher only utters. "That's... That's me."

After a solid 5 seconds of seemingly menacing silence, Vintage...

... opens both eyes, holding out his hand to him. "Pleasure to finally meet you proper." Vin says.

"... Ah-. Yes, you as well... Vintage." Crusher lightly smiles, hesitating to shake his hand.

"How touching." Eggshades mutters to himself.

Pigtails gave a small, muffled snort hearing Eggshades. She crossed her arms and smiled, then jumped off the bed back down to Crusher, sitting across from him at the Clam Blitz set. 

Omega looked at the door, then back at Vintage. "I wonder when you'll be able to leave. Both of you."

"Both-?" Vintage looks to his group as he takes back his hand, scanning around for any possible-. ...

Eggshades still has the bandages neatly wrapped around him.

"What-... What happened?" Vintage looks back to Omega, taking a rather concerned tone of voice with her.

"Long story short, Eggshades got stabbed with an urchin spine." Omega answered, flashing a glance at Eggs.

" _ Pardon?? _ " Vintage darts a few looks between Pigtails and Eggshades.

Eggshades lightly chuckles. "Yeah... Lucky we got outta there when we did, I nearly passed out."

"It was, uh, terrifying, to say the least!" Pigtails chimed in, her tone light.

"Yeah... we put ourselves through hell, pretty much." Eggshades adds. "One of em scared the life outta Omega, I think."

Vintage had no response at first, looking back down to his hands. The mere thought of his team, his only friends getting hurt, appears to agitate him. The rest of the team would notice his claws digging into the sheets as the silent minute passes.

"Hey." Omega spoke up. She looked over at Vintage with her eyes, giving him a small smile. "At least we're here. Here and alive. That's all that matters, isn't it?"

"I-... I suppose..." Vintage sheathes his claws back, taking another deep breath before looking back to Omega. His stern expression refused to change, but that was clearly considered normal for him by now. "While I am rather agitated that they would put you all at such risk like that..."

"... I am glad to see you all well again."

"And don't forget, you're alive, too. Despite the risk we took, you're safe. We're all safe." She said, putting her hands on his shoulders, still smiling to him. "I'm glad to see you too."

Without much warning, Vintage pulls Omega into another hug. "... Forgive me..."

There was only a little hesitation as Omega hugged Vintage back, slightly taken by surprise from the hug. "..It's okay. There's nothing to apologize for. You're okay." Her tone was as reassuring as it could get, almost only audible to Vintage. The others could hear her comforting him just a little bit.

"But those-... bastards, they hurt you..." Vintage mutters.

Eggshades chose not to interrupt, instead folding his arms and grinning at the two. Best let them have their moment in peace.

"It's not your fault." Omega continued to assure.

Pigtails was quietly putting up the Clam Blitz set with Crusher while watching them, also deciding to leave them be.

"They appear close." Crusher simply whispers to Pigtails.

"They are." Pigtails whispered back. "They've known each other since they were kids. So it's.. a long time they've been friends. They have a really strong bond, y'know."

"I see." Crusher admires the two's relationship between one-another.

Meanwhile, Vintage refused to release his grip. He couldn't help but feel this overwhelming guilt, guilt that his own team put themselves in danger for his carelessness. "I'm-. Just... I'm sorry..." He repeats.

"It's okay." She'd echoed.

Vintage only responds with a weak sigh. He does, however, sink into her embrace a little.

Eggshades decides to add his input. "Aw, that's nice..." He says, finally popping his shades back on.

Omega flashed him a cold glance before her eyes turned back to Vintage, squeezing him tighter for a short moment. Finally, she let go and set her hands in her lap before looking outside the window. Still daylight. She thought for a moment. "Is there anything you wanna do when you get out of here?" Omega asked Vintage.

"... Eat." Was the first thing Vintage suggested.

"Well obviously." Pigtails chimed in, zipping up the cover to the Clam Blitz basket.

"I meant like, aside from that." Omega said.

"Well... I can't exactly get back into battle like this. Not for a couple days, at least." Vintage says, referring to his current condition. "Apart from that, I'm... not sure what else I would do."

"Hm." Eggshades begins to think. "Damn... Ranked is our usual thing, too." He says, somewhat disappointed.

Pigtails leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. She thought for a moment. And then she remembered something.

_ Oh my god Vintage needs his phone back. _

Pigtails stood up and looked over at the rest of them before blurting, "I'M gonna go to the square for a bit to get something I'll be right back bye!" She went and left the room after that.

Omega looked after her, a bit of a confused look on her face before she looked around at the rest of them, shrugging her shoulders. She just assumed Pigtails was getting food.

Crusher watches as Pigtails darts off out of the room. What could she be doing? He ponders to himself, tilting his head in question.

Eggshades only raised an eyebrow, as he does. He found this to be normal. "... Alright, then."

"I wonder what she's up to.." Omega thought aloud. She then looked over at Vintage again, and then Eggshades. "You should probably sit down." She told Eggs.

"Pigtails was always one for surprises." Vintage leans back against his bed's pillow. "One can only guess."

"Who knows? And for the record, I'm fine." Eggshades insists, stumbling a bit as he makes his way back to his bed. "However, I'm  _ gonna  _ lie down." He raises his tired tone.

"Keep telling yourself that." Omega remarked, rolling her eyes. "Speaking of which, how is it right now? I doubt the effects have completely gone away."

"It's all good. I've never felt better." Eggshades plops back on his bed, letting out a large sigh as he lands on the soft cushions.

" _ Eggshades _ ." Vintage gives him the same scolding tone he did many times before.

"... okay maybe I'm not 100%. But I  _ am  _ feeling a little better." Eggs admits.

Omega let out a sigh. "I hope you'll get better soon."

"Hah, me too." Eggshades shoots a finger gun in Omega's direction.

"... I'm glad to see nothing has changed." Vintage scoffs.

"It really hasn't." Omega agreed, putting a hand on her hip.

Eggshades lifts himself up, only by a few inches. "Come on, guys. I've been through worse." No he hasn't. "Really, I'm pretty sure I'll be oka-."

"You won't be 'okay' for a while, Eggs. Much like myself." Vintage interrupts, taking his signature stern tone. "The most you and I should be doing now is resting. Your personal health is always top priority, and you will not change my mind."

Eggshades was completely shot down by Vintage's remark. But... he gives him a thankful grin anyway. Just what he wanted to hear. This was Vintage, alright. "Right... Good to have you back, boss."

Vintage offers a small smile to him back. "You too, Eggs."

Omega gave them a smile before walking over to Eggshades and giving him a soft hug. "You get one too."

Eggshades, admittedly, was caught by a short sense of surprise as Omega held him. Only seconds pass before he chooses to bring his arms around her as well. "Aw, 'Mega..."

Omega continued to hold him for a couple more seconds before letting go. She gave him a warm smile before backing up and going to sit over in a chair against the wall. She scrolled through her phone, looking back at the text messages. Text messages they'd all sent months ago.

She wondered why she was still looking. The chats had always been empty ever since Vintage had gone missing. So why was she still looking? Omega didn't know. Perhaps she was waiting for something to happen.

The messages made her a bit sad. They just reminded her of the months of nothing, the months of waiting, those two months of torment, and of her and her team's carelessness. She let out a quiet sigh before switching the apps to a game she liked to play, deciding not to dwell on the past for now.

Crusher had kept to himself all the meanwhile, apart from helping Pigtails pick up the Clam Blitz set. Pigtails... where could she have gone off too?

And soon he would know. About 10 minutes passed before the door suddenly swung open. Pigtails' foot hit the ground, showing that she'd kicked open the door. She was holding food from Crusty Sean's, smiling brightly, but she looked like she'd been running everywhere, trying to catch her breath and her pupils dilated. She let out a huff before speaking. "hEY GUYS I GOT SH- STUFF" At least she was making an effort not to cuss in a public area.

Eggshades and Crusher jump at the sound of Pigtails' sudden entrance. "AH!" They shout in unison.

Vintage doesn't react. He doesn't even flinch. "Ah, there you are."

Omega jumped at Pigtails. The bouncy inkling walked over to Vintage, handing him one of the items. "You said you were hungry, so I got you a lil' somethin." She then skipped over to Eggshades and gave him something too. "You also!"

Vintage doesn't hesitate to start eating once Pigtails brings it over. Finally, after two months of little food... Actual  _ good  _ food. "Ah... Thank you, Pigtails. I appreciate it."

"HECK YES." Eggshades raises his voice as he shot up from his spot, immediately digging in. His situation wasn't akin to Vin's, but the effects of the urchin poison had gotten to him on the way here. That, and he tends to act like this around Crusty Sean's food anyway.

Crusher didn't react. He only continued to sit in silence as the two devoured their meals, assuming this was normal. At least he assumes correct for Eggshades.

Pigtails then came over and crouched down to Crusher, putting a small fried sandwich in front of him. "Don't think I forgot you, too. I know you've never tried this, so I think now's a good time to."

"Huh?" Crusher takes the offer, albeit somewhat confused. "What are these?" He asks Pigtails in a curious tone. He would accept an answer from anyone, really.

"Basically they're...." Pigtails trailed off. Oh god. "I have no idea what these are. All I know is that they're deep fried and taste delicious."

"Hm..." Crusher thinks to himself. What does deep fried even mean? He shrugs, taking a small bite out of it... before finishing it in mere minutes, similar to Vintage. "Wow...! These  _ are  _ pretty good!"

"I know, right? Crusty Sean makes the  _ best  _ whatever these things are! I should've gotten drinks too." Pigtails said, giving Crusher a bright smile. She also walked over to Omega to give her something too. After that she didn't have anything left.

Vintage couldn't help but notice a detail. A small, but rather important, detail. "Did you not get something for yourself?"

Pigtails looked up before looking at her hands. "Oh.. I guess I forgot." She was quiet for a moment before perking back up again, although Vintage could tell her heart wasn't fully in it. "But that's okay! I ate before I left, so I'll be fine!"

Vintage, obviously, was not buying into it. He refuses to let this slide. "... You're free to share with me, you know." He kindly offers to Pigtails.

"What? No, you need that for yourself." Pigtails said, her tone hardening.

"Yes, but I am willing to share with you." Vintage insists.

"I don't need it. I'm fine." Pigtails continues to argue.

"Pigtails.." Omega muttered.

Pigtails crossed her arms. "Whatever, just- On another topic, there's something else I need to give you." Pigtails said. She reached from her pocket and pulled out a phone with a bright blue, purple, and black case on it. "I got your phone back for ya!"

She handed it to him then stepped back, leaning against the wall near Vintage's bed.

Vintage took his phone, but remained silent as he stared at it in his free open hand. "Right... Thanks."

Eggshades sighs, directing his attention for Pigtails. "You know we practically live off'a cereal, 'Tails. No harm in taking the offer."

"I'm not gonna fucking take the offer, he needs it more than I do." Pigtails immediately responded, her words harsh.

"Hey, you gotta eat too, y'know." Eggs retorts.

Pigtails stopped responding, crossing her arms and shifting her eyes the other way. She didn't feel like arguing anymore.

Eggshades sighs once more. "Pigtails, come on."

Crusher couldn't stand the scene playing before him. He holds out (what was left of) his sandwich. "You can... share with me instead..."

Pigtails looked over to Crusher, hesitating for a moment before crouching down next to him, taking part of his offered piece. "I... I'll take you up on that. Thanks, Crush."

Crusher responds with a bright smile. Pigtails would agree, it did feel odd seeing such a smile coming from someone that looked identical to their team leader.

"Hmph." Vintage huffs through his nostrils, looking through his phone. The first thing he notices is his missed calls. He could feel his hearts sink once he read who they were from. "Hn..." He shakes his head sane, looking up to Omega. She appeared to be occupying herself, since Eggshades and Pigtails began to argue. Vin decides to resort to messaging her, partially to keep to themselves.

**Vintage** > Omega.

**Omega** > Yes?

**Vintage** > I must admit, I'm unsure how to properly make up for my carelessness.

**Vintage** > But if there is anything you might want to do to make up for lost time, I'm all ears.

**Omega** > You don't have to make up for it.

**Vintage** > I know I don't have to.

**Vintage** > but, I want to.

**Omega** > If you really do want to, then okay.

**Omega** > However, nothing's coming to mind right now.

**Omega** > Honestly, just having you here is enough.

**Vintage** > I see...

**Vintage** > Perhaps we will think of something later.

**Vintage** > ...

**Vintage** > but, yes. I am glad to finally see you again.

  
**Vintage** > [ _ He sends a mint sparkling heart emoji. _ ]

 

Vintage could see Omega smiling at the screen. She then looked up at him with her eyes, a slightly smug smile on her face, and took a screenshot of his message.

 

**Omega** > [ _ She sends the same emoji back. _ ]

 

Vintage didn't face away from his phone, but his eyes shift over to Omega. He could see it plain as day, alright. As he notices the flash emitting off her screen, Vin gives a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is probably gonna be the last chapter for a while fbhdbhjdnjgdjk hope y'all like it!


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